Coronial Law

Coronial Law is the legal framework governing inquest proceedings in England and Wales.

The main piece of relevant Coronial Law legislation is the Coroners and Justice Act 2009, however common law and other legislation – particularly Article 2 of the European Convention on Human Rights (the ‘right to life’) – are also significant. Guidance from the Chief Coroner is also of assistance in this area.

Experience

Hickman & Rose are inquest law experts. The firm’s lawyers have represented clients in some of the country’s most complex and significant inquests. These include numerous Article 2 matters, including the inquests of:

• Sean Rigg. Sean, who had schizophrenia, died in Brixton Police Station in 2008 following restraint by Metropolitan Police Officers. In 2012 the inquest jury found that restraint by the police of Sean in the prone position more than minimally contributed to his death, resulting in the IPCC commissioning an unprecedented independent review of its investigation. In 2015 the then Home Secretary, Theresa May, referred to Sean’s death when she announced an independent review into deaths in or following police custody.
• Prince Fosu. Prince was experiencing a psychotic illness when he was detained by police in September 2012, before being taken to Harmondsworth Immigration Removal Centre. Six days later he was found dead in his cell; his death was found to have been caused by dehydration, malnutrition and hypothermia. The inquest jury found that gross failures by multiple agencies and individuals caused Prince’s death, and concluded that his death was a result of ‘neglect’.
• Duncan Tomlin. Duncan, who had epilepsy, was restrained by Sussex Police officers in July 2014. Evidence heard at the inquest included two pathologists telling the jury that the restraint of Duncan by officers contributed to Duncan’s death. The jury found that Duncan’s death was contributed to by neglect, and delivered a narrative verdict which was critical of the officers and the training they received in relation to positional asphyxia.
• Richard Walsh. Richard was found hanging in his cell at HMP Belmarsh in July 2015. His inquest explored serious concerns around the Mental Health Act (MHA) assessment carried out prior to Richard being remanded to prison, and how he was cared for in prison. The inquest jury found the way in which the MHA assessment was carried out amounted to neglect.

Hickman & Rose have strong expertise in advising Interested Persons in an inquest (and those seeking to become Interested Persons). We also have significant experience acting in judicial reviews brought in relation to coroners’ decisions. The firm’s recent work includes being instructed by the charity INQUEST as an Interested Party in the case of R (Maughan) v HM Senior Coroner for Oxfordshire [2020] UKSC 46 which determined that the standard of proof for all short-form conclusions in an inquest is the balance of probabilities.