Inquests and Public Inquiries

We specialise in advising bereaved families following deaths in custody and deaths involving the police or other state agents. We also represent individuals who have suffered very serious injuries and even come close to death in custody.

At the outset, we act quickly to ensure that evidence is preserved, including by instructing pathologists and other experts where appropriate.  At every stage we work to empower families to find out as much as possible about what has happened to their loved one.  We support families so that they can participate effectively at all stages of the process from the initial investigation through to the inquest or public inquiry. 

We also assist our clients, where appropriate, to bring formal complaints to hold individual police or prison officers to account in cases where misconduct has contributed to the death.  In some cases this has led to officers being subject to criminal and/or disciplinary proceedings.  If appropriate, we also assist clients to obtain compensation.   

We are currently acting in two police shooting cases – the inquest in to the death of Idi Aatiba who was shot in Luton in 2009 and the public inquiry in to the death of Azelle Rodney who was shot in London in 2005.  We are also acting for families whose relatives have died following restraint in custody. Other cases involve challenging the failure to keep prisoners safe from suicide in prison, and investigating the failure to protect prisoners and patients from homicidal attacks by others in custody. 

We are members of Inquest Lawyers Group and work closely with the specialist organisation INQUEST, which provides help to families and lobbies for improvements to prevent deaths in custody and to improve the inquest system. Daniel Machover is the chair of INQUEST.