Inquests

Inquests are judicial investigations and in particular help determine cause of death when the death was sudden or unexplained. They can also be held into large scale disasters such as the Grenfell Tower Fire. Inquests are also held to investigate potential malpractice of doctors and failures of the health care system.

These include:

• Maternal deaths – according to the World Health Organisation, every day across the world around 830 women die from causes related to childbirth and pregnancy.1 The vast majority of these deaths occur in developing countries and are entirely preventable. Maternal deaths are due mainly to either bleeding, infection or pre-eclampsia, all conditions which can be effectively managed if recognised and treated in a timely fashion.2
• New-born deaths – hand in hand with care for pregnant and birthing mothers is care for the baby
• Mental health inquest – there may be failings by mental health services that play a role in precipitating unnecessary deaths
• Inquests into misdiagnosis
• Failure to assess – systematic failures by GPs and other medical experts to identify key symptoms.

Funding for families at inquests

Currently in the UK legal aid funding for families at inquests in not available. This state of affairs is being challenged by the Commons Justice Committee, on the basis that it is unfair, given that public bodies, such as the NHS, were able to draw on public funds to pay for lawyers. This frequently leads to the situation where families are unrepresented at inquests and for this reason do not get the answers they deserve.

Don’t put yourself in that position. If someone you loved suffered as the result of medical negligence and the case is being investigated by an inquest – speak to our specialist lawyers. One of our medical team at Osbornes Law will make sure that you and your family are properly represented so that you get answers and if relevant, appropriate compensation.

Osbornes Law representation at inquests

Osbornes Law has acted for many families who have required support, guidance and assistance at an inquest including deaths of relatives due to:

• failure to diagnose appendicitis in a 14 year old boy
• failure to provide care to psychiatric inpatient’s on several occasions at different psychiatric units
• death following cardiac angiogram
• maternal death following c-section
• death following failure to transport patient to hospital
• death following Croydon tram crash
• death following RTA or accident at work

At Osbornes Law we have legal advisors and support teams able to speak various languages including Polish, Romanian, Hungarian and Spanish. They are experienced at assisting with the process and liaising with the coroner’s officers.

Our Promise to You

• We will review your potential claim by advising you on the NHS complaints procedure or other alternative procedure if your case does not relate to NHS care and treatment.
• We will not charge a fee for our time in reviewing your case.
• We can assist you with any issues that you may have regarding the complaints procedure or that you encounter in obtaining copies of your medical records.
• We will advise you of the course of action in respect of your case.