When must a death be reported to the Coroner?
What is an autopsy?
What is an inquest?
I don’t want them to perform an autopsy on a loved one because it’s against my beliefs. Can I stop them?
When must a death be reported to the Coroner?
There are several reasons why a death might be reported to the coroner for investigation. It is the coroner’s duty to find out the cause of death. The coroner may become involved:
- If a death is sudden, and the doctor is unable to determine the cause of death
- If it was unnatural or violent (for example, a drowning, a car accident or poisoning)
- If the death was a suicide
- If no Medical Certificate of Cause of Death has been issued, for instance if a doctor was not called when the person died
- If the person died while under anaesthetic or during a medical operation or procedure, or if the death appears to have been caused by the anaesthetic, operation or procedure
- If the person died in prison or in Police custody
- If the person died in a state institution, such as a psychiatric hospital or children’s home
Once a death has been reported to the coroner, the body cannot be buried or cremated until the coroner is satisfied of the medical cause of death and makes an order for the burial or cremation to go ahead. In many cases this will happen within 24 hours of the death. The coroner may order an autopsy or initiate an inquest.
What is an autopsy?
In some circumstances, the coroner’s office will order a post-mortem or ‘autopsy’, which is a full examination of the body, often involving surgical procedures, to reveal more information about how the person died.
What is an inquest?
An inquest is a formal hearing in Court to establish the circumstances of a person’s death. It may happen months after the funeral has taken place, and usually happens when the death has occurred under suspicious or unusual circumstances.
I don’t want them to perform an autopsy on a loved one because it’s against my beliefs. Can I stop them?
If you believe that someone should be left intact after death, you can make this known to the coroner. They will take it into account before they make their decision to perform an autopsy, although it remains the coroner’s decision whether or not a post-mortem needs to be performed to establish the cause of death.