HM Coroner - Print version

The Coroner's Service

His Majesty's Coroner holds office under the Crown and is an independent Judge presiding over a Court of Record.

The role of the Coroner is to investigate and record the causes and circumstances of all sudden deaths where the cause is not known, violent or unnatural deaths and any death which happened while the deceased was in lawful custody.

If you have any concerns about a death then please contact the Coroner's Officers.

Coroner Services and a short guide to a coroner investigation [https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/guide-to-coroner-services-and-coroner-investigations-a-short-guide]

The work of HM Coroner for Coventry

• HM Senior Coroner for Coventry: Sean McGovern
• HM Area Coroner for Coventry: Delroy Henry

A doctor may report a death to a Coroner if the:

• cause of death is unknown
• death was violent or unnatural
• death was sudden and unexplained
• person who died was not visited by a medical practitioner during their final illness
• medical certificate is not available
• person who died was not seen by the doctor who signed the medical certificate during their lifetime or after they died
• death occurred during an operation or before the person came out of the anaesthetic
• medical certificate suggests the death may have been caused by an industrial disease or industrial poisoning.

More information on the work of HM Coroners can be found in the Coroners and Justice Act 2009 [https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2009/25/contents].

Decisions of HM Coroner

The coroner may decide that the cause of death is clear. In this case:

• The doctor signs a medical certificate.
• The medical examiner sends the medical certificate to the registrar once they have scrutinised the case. The medical examiner's office will call you when the certificate is in place so that the family know when to contact the Coventry Register Office in order to make an appointment to register the death [/registerdeath].

Post Mortems

The Coroner may decide a Post Mortem (autopsy) is needed to find out how the person died. This will take place in a hospital or mortuary.

You cannot object to a Coroner’s Post Mortem, but if you ask, the Coroner must tell you (and the person’s GP) when and where the examination will take place.

After the Post Mortem

The Coroner will release the body for a funeral when the Post Mortem examination is complete and no further examination is needed.

If the body is released with no Inquest, the Coroner will send a form to the registrar stating the cause of death.

The Coroner will also send a Certificate of Coroner - Cremation 6 if the body is to be cremated.  If there is to be a burial, the registrar will issue a green document at the time of registration.

Coroner's Inquests and Coroner's Court

Coroner's Inquests

A Coroner must hold an inquest to find out who, when, where and how the death occurred.

An Inquest is a legal requirement when the cause of death is still unknown, or if the person:

• possibly died a violent or unnatural death
• death occurred whist at work
• died in prison, police custody or detained under the Mental Health Act

During the investigation process, the Coroner will provide the interested persons with an interim death certificate as proof of death. You can use this to let organisations know the person has died.

The death cannot be registered until after the Coronial investigations has been concluded. The Coroner is responsible for sending the relevant paperwork to the registrar where death will be formally registered.

If required, copies of the full death certificate will be available to purchase, via Coventry Register Office.

Download and print the upcoming hearing dates [/downloads/download/4610/coroners_inquest_hearing_dates]

Coroner's Court

Inquests are held in a publicly open court. Friends and family of the deceased are welcome to attend. If you would prefer not to attend in person because you may find the hearing too distressing, an alternative is to participate remotely via Teams. If attending in person, on your arrival you will be met by either the Court Officer or a member of the Coroner's Court Support Service (CCSS) [https://coronerscourtssupportservice.org.uk/]. 

There is no dress code but we ask that people dress reasonably smartly being mindful of the formality of proceedings and in respect to the family. Children are not permitted in court.

The Coroner may also require witnesses to attend. This will be different for each case, but may include doctors, nurses, police officers, carers, eyewitnesses and any other relevant people.

Inquests are public hearings so the court cannot exclude the press but you do not have to interact with any media representatives, if you would prefer not to. We cannot prevent accounts of the Inquest being published or broadcast.

Following all the evidence heard, the Coroner will deliver a conclusion.

Further information

Coroners' Court Support Service (CCSS) [https://coronerscourtssupportservice.org.uk/]

The Coroners’ Courts Support Service (CCSS) is an independent voluntary organisation whose trained volunteers offer emotional support and practical help to bereaved families, witnesses and others attending an Inquest at a Coroner’s Court.

Taking a body out of England

If someone dies in Coventry and you want to move their body Out of England for their funeral, the Coroner will need to provide a completed Out of England form (Form 103).

Your appointed Funeral Director will be able to help with obtaining the necessary documents.

There’s no restriction on moving bodies within England and Wales.

Treasure

You must report all treasure finds to the Coroner within 14 days. Treasure is strictly defined by the Treasure Act 1996.

Archived files

Should you require an archived Coroner’s file dated prior to World War 2, you will need to contact the Warwick Country Record Office (hyperlink)

Any files dated after this date, will need to be requested in writing, via the Coroner’s Office.