Registrars or births and deaths, doctors or the Police must report deaths to a Coroner in certain circumstances. These include where it appears that:
- no Doctor saw the deceased during his or her last illness
- although a Doctor attended the deceased during the last illness, the Doctor is not able or available, for any reason, to certify the death
- the cause of death is unknown
- the death occurred during an operation or before recovery from the effects of an anaesthetic
- the death occurred at work or was due to industrial disease or poisoning
- the death was sudden and unexplained
- the death was unnatural
- the death was due to violence or neglect
- the death was in other suspicious circumstances, or
- the death occurred in prison, Police custody or another type of state detention
If you believe that a death of this kind has not been reported to the Coroner, you may report it yourself. You should do this as soon as possible and before the funeral. The Coroner will then inform you of the action he or she proposes to take.
The Coroner does not become involved in the many cases when the deceased's own Doctor, or a hospital Doctor who has been treating him or her during the final stages of an illness, is able to diagnose and certify a natural cause of death.
