Deaths
Registering a death
Why is a coroner sometimes involved?
Some circumstances require the registrar to report a death to the coroner before the death can be registered. Examples include:
- where there is no doctor who can issue a medical certificate of cause of death
- where the person was not seen by the doctor issuing the medical certificate after he or she had died, or during the 14 days before the death
- where the cause of death is unknown
- where the cause of death is believed to be unnatural or suspicious
- where the death happened during an operation or before recovery from an anaesthetic
- where the death is due to industrial disease or industrial poisoning
The coroner must then decide whether there should be further investigation into the death – and the registrar cannot register the death until the coroner notifies him/her of their decision.
