Failures To Comply With Coroners' Investigations: A Timely Reminder

While many coroners have afforded interested persons more flexibility in respect of timelines to disclose documents to them given the current pandemic, two recent examples provide a timely reminder of coroners' powers insofar as disclosure of information and assisting the coroner's inquiry is concerned. While thankfully rare, these examples show the ‘teeth' of coroners' powers and are an important warning for organisations and individuals who are asked to provide written or oral evidence for, or at, a coroner's inquest.

Schedule 5 Coroners and Justice Act 2009

In May 2019, the senior coroner for the Isle of Wight issued a fine to the chief executive of the Isle of Wight NHS Trust in the sum of £500. The fine was issued under Schedule 5 of the Coroners and Justice Act 2009 on the basis that the coroner had repeatedly not been informed of the existence of serious incident investigations prior to bodies being cremated.