What is the role of a coroner?

Sometimes a coroner may be involved when a death occurs. This is quite normal and is usually when the death of a loved one is sudden or unexpected. This will also be in certain cases where the person who has died has not seen their doctor within the 14 days leading up to their death.

Paramedics will attend the place of death when a sudden or unexpected death occurs, and if necessary the Police may also attend. This is to obtain information on the coroners behalf and either they or the doctor will inform the coroner accordingly.

The role of the coroner is to determine what has caused the death. Sometimes this may require a post mortem.

What is a post mortem?

A post-mortem is a type of examination which is also known as an autopsy. It is the examination of the body of the person that has died and will help the coroner establish the cause of death.

A post-mortem examination is carried out by a pathologist which is a doctor who specialises in understanding the nature of illness and the causes of disease.

The post mortem can take a few days, or sometimes more but once the cause of death has been established, the coroner will give permission for the person that has died to be released into the care of your funeral director.

At this point, we can offer further help and guidance on registering your loved one’s death which will allow their funeral arrangements to go ahead.