Inquests are held in the Coroner's Court if a person has died a violent or unnatural death, or a sudden death of which the cause is unknown. The purpose of the Inquest is to ascertain the cause of death and whether systemic failures have contributed to it.
We act for the families of those who have died in prison or in police stations or after other contact with the police, eg a police chase, a police shooting. These Inquests are held with a jury after very detailed investigations have taken place into the facts.
Dealing with the death of a loved one is hard enough, but where an arm of the State is concerned, representation is vital, given that there will be an array of lawyers representing the institutions and individuals involved.
Ruth Bundey, a Partner in the firm for many years, is our Inquest specialist and has dealt with and appeared at very many inquests, often high profile, into deaths in custody. Exceptional funding is usually available from the Legal Services Commission for such cases, since Article 2 of the Human Rights Act, the right to life, is engaged. The overriding concern of families is to ensure through the Inquest investigation that any failures are exposed, lessons learned, and other lives are not similarly lost.
As a firm we also represent families who have lost a relative in untoward circumstances in a hospital or care home.
Nancy Fairbairn, Partner, and head of our Clinical negligence team ensures that appropriate representation is provided at any ensuing inquest and is always in a position to advise on the law with regard to pursing claims for loss arising from any negligence on the part of a medical professional.
For further information please call or e-mail Ruth Bundey or Nancy Fairbairn.