Coroners Inquest - writing statement

paulgroom

jackieglasgow wrote: »

I agree with the others, it is better to say everything, and let them edit it themselves, they will pick the relevant information out, that is their job. At least you will be secure in the knowledge that you told them everything you could remember. I would also imagine that writing that all down, no matter how painful, must also have been cathartic for you. I hope you got the other issues over her funeral resolved too. Best wishes.

I'm glad I started working on this. Its strange how one little event or conversation would seem to unlock another little bit I had forgoten about. I doubt I would have been able to remember so much if I had tried to do it while the police officer was sat there writing it down.

It hasnt been cathartic. It has made very angry.

The other issues resolved themselves very well. I put my foot down (as suggested on here) and I know the correct outcome for everybody was reached.

Thank you to everybody for all the excellent advice so far. I shall put everything down and let them decide what should be included.

paulgroom

BitterAndTwisted wrote: »

It's my understanding that the coroner will be interested in FACTS and not necessarily any conversations or telephone calls being written down verbatim, or your feelings on the matter. Was she receiving any medical care in relation to her anorexia? Who was she receiving it from? Did she undergo any therapy and was she taking any medication for her condition? Things like that. In any case, the officer who comes to take your statement will most probably advise on the sorts of things you will need to mention.

I do understand your confusion and uncertainty at this terrible time. I can't think of anything worse and you have my sympathy

This is precisely how I started writing my statement. I realised very quickly that it would not bring to light the full events.

Let me give you a hypothetical situation;

A child is killed by a neighbours dog. The dog bit the child and the child died.

Now I would presume the family witness statement would read something like this - "I heard a noise in the garden and went out and saw my child had been bitten. I called an sambulance. We arived at the hospital and my child was pronounced dead."

But is that really the full story?

The parent had previously told the owner of the dog he had a hole in his fence. The parent was aware the dog had previously bitten the postman. The parent asked the neighbour to repair the fence. The neighbour had put up a flimsy piece of wood against the fence. The parent had again spoken to the neighbour and said he didnt think that would keep the dog out of his garden etc etc etc...

So does the Coroner merely want to know how the child died or would he like to know about the events that led up to the event?

This is where I am slightly confused.

patchwork_cat

Complete layman, but my opinion is the point of an inquest is to determine cause of death and if a trial or further investigation is required. I therefore would think that in your hypothetical situation the coroner would want to know the extra information as it puts a different slant on the cause of death, in this case the owner of the dog was negligent and not just an unfortunate accident by an otherwise well behaved dog and could have been avoided with due care.

Reading betwen the lines am I right in assuming that you feel the medical profession did not do everything they could for your partner.

The coroner's office I would have thought would welcome a call, my grandparent's solicitor was the local coroner for their area and he was a lovely bloke.

My condolences to you as I think that you are having an especially hard time at the moment, try not to overthink these things.

paulgroom

patchwork_cat wrote: »

Reading betwen the lines am I right in assuming that you feel the medical profession did not do everything they could for your partner.

In my hypothetical situation, one might wonder why the fence wasnt repaired when it was brought to the attention of the neighbour on so many previous occasions leading up to the event.

I'm sure a parent in that situation would have some questions he might like to ask the neighbour.

DVardysShadow

paulgroom wrote: »

.... Let me give you a hypothetical situation;

A child is killed by a neighbours dog. The dog bit the child and the child died.

Now I would presume the family witness statement would read something like this - "I heard a noise in the garden and went out and saw my child had been bitten. I called an sambulance. We arived at the hospital and my child was pronounced dead."

But is that really the full story?

The parent had previously told the owner of the dog he had a hole in his fence. The parent was aware the dog had previously bitten the postman. The parent asked the neighbour to repair the fence. The neighbour had put up a flimsy piece of wood against the fence. The parent had again spoken to the neighbour and said he didnt think that would keep the dog out of his garden etc etc etc...

So does the Coroner merely want to know how the child died or would he like to know about the events that led up to the event?

This is where I am slightly confused.

I think you have put a very clear scenario here. The dilemma is not over 'hearsay' vs 'real' evidence - in your scenario, it is all 'real' evidence. Your problem will probably be that the police are culturally inclined to come to a view of what happened and then write the statements to uphold that view. Your issue is one of relevance above all.

Although what you are doing is driven to a large part by emotion, if you can handle your particular narrative in the way that you tell the wider story of the dog,it is all real, objective evidence.

Probably you will be pressured to provide something different, but as the statements are a matter of public record, you should place what you want to place on the record and not be swayed by anyone. Don't see the police until you have written it to your satisfaction.

The police will probably be very reluctant to accept it and will want to rewrite it. But if it is what you want to say, then stick to your guns. The practical compromise you could come out with is that you provide a short statement 'I attach my own statement of 20 pages relating to the death of my partner. <officer> has asked for further clarification on points as given below. .....'

Hope that helps.

patchwork_cat

paulgroom wrote: »

In my hypothetical situation, one might wonder why the fence wasnt repaired when it was brought to the attention of the neighbour on so many previous occasions leading up to the event.

I'm sure a parent in that situation would have some questions he might like to ask the neighbour.

Well then I agree in the hypothetical situation the parent should definatley ask why teh fence wasn't mended when pointed out. However this is the UK and mental health services in this country are IMHO appalling, so the parent ought to complain to make sure that the next neighbour has the fence repaired. If the inquest doesn't look into it, then the GMC might.

squibbs25

paulgroom wrote: »

So does the Coroner merely want to know how the child died or would he like to know about the events that led up to the event?

This is where I am slightly confused.

IIRC, yes, the coroner wants to know the events that led to the death, if it could have been prevented (ie accidental death etc) how that person came to die and what actually caused the death.

What the coroner will not do is get involved in any litigation (if there is a case) the coroner is purely after the facts to help determine the cause of death so the death can be recorded correctly.

going by your made up senerio, the coroner would want to know about the broken fence etc but it wouldnt change the outcome of what gets recorded i.e *The verdict can be, for example, natural death, accidental death, misadventure, suicide, or murder. If the verdict is murder or culpable accident, criminal prosecution may follow*
(* = i copied that part from wikipedia)

I'm sure i'm correct with what i'm thinking although if anyone knows better then by all means please correct me.

floss2

As someone who has worked in a Coroner's office, I would say please speak to your Coroner's office, and ask them for advice. They will be able to guide you as to exactly what information is looked for in the statement.

BTW, a Coroner's inquest can last a short time, or can be days, weeks or even months long, if the situation demands and is a jury inquest (for example the London tube & bus bombings). From experience, your partner's death is unlikely to go to that, but again, I would suggest that you call the office and speak to the Clerk. They will be able to help you, and guide you with regards to what they are looking for from your statement. They will also be able to help with any other practical problems such as requests for information from insurance or pension companies (at least, our office does!)

floss2

squibbs25 wrote: »

...What the coroner will not do is get involved in any litigation (if there is a case) the coroner is purely after the facts to help determine the cause of death so the death can be recorded correctly.....

And also if there are any recommendations to any authority (Police, Hospital, Council, Government etc) that come out as a result of the inquest, the Coroner will write to that authority and express those recommendations.

ekkygirl

I am sorry for your loss and in such a long drawn out way it must have been terrible for you and her.

My understanding is that the coroner will try to establish how she died and whether anything could have been done which wasn't. For example if you had taken her to A&E on numerous occasions in the lead up to her death and she was not seen or not dealt with properly, or if you told her consultant something that could have saved her if he had acted upon it the coronere could find that negligence was a factor although he cannot apportion blame the inquest is for the facts and not to blame anyone.

You will be given a chance to speak at the inquest, at least I was so I think its the norm

Regards