Reporting a death to the Coroner

A death must be reported to the Coroner if:

• no doctor is able to provide a certificate, which conforms with the regulations, stating the cause of death, or
• there are grounds for thinking the death maybe have been due to an injury or some unnatural cause, e.g. industrial disease, the effects of drugs, an injury or the cause is not known

The Coroner has to carry out an enquiry into cases such as these to establish the cause of death, and this sometimes involves a post-mortem examination.

Depending on the information they get, the Coroner may decide either:

That the death is from natural causes

They will then give details to the Registrar of Births and Deaths so that the death can be registered.

That an investigation should be commenced

This may lead to an inquest being held. Registration of the death can't take place until either an investigation has been discontinued, or the inquest has been held. The Coroner's Officer will explain this to you.

H M Coroner, their officers and administrative staff will treat all bereaved relatives and other members of the public courteously and sympathetically at all times and will give respect to the deceased's religious faith and cultural traditions within the constraints of the statutory duties.

We are an impartial, independent body and our aim is to establish the facts surrounding a death, whilst complying with the Coroner's statutory responsibilities.

We will keep sensitive information as confidential as possible within a system based on public court hearings. Explanations for the procedures adopted in particular cases will be given on request where the Coroner is satisfied that the person has a proper interest

In all cases, every effort will be made to avoid the need to change any funeral arrangements which may have been made. Unfortunately, in some circumstances, this cannot be helped.

Should you require the services of the Coroner's Office, please fill out the GP Electronic Coroner’s Death Referral Form here, and send it via email to coronersofficeeast@wakefield.gov.uk.