Inquests

Our experience:

• Most recently we have been instructed as the solicitor to the Fishmongers’ Hall Inquests
• We have been instructed as solicitor to the Westminster Bridge and Palace of Westminster Inquests and solicitor to the London Bridge and Borough Market Inquests by the Chief Coroner
• We were appointed solicitor to the Tunisia Inquests in October 2015 by the Coroner. In this role we worked closely with the Coroner, Counsel to the Inquests, as well as the Metropolitan Police Service, the families of the 30 deceased, TUI and Her Majesty’s Government from October 2015 until 2017. We dealt with classified material, public interest immunity issues, setting up a website for the Inquests and a significant document management service for in excess of 4000 documents, obtaining witness statements and working with the local Coroner’s Court and the Ministry of Justice
• We represented a high-profile charity as an Interested Person at the Hillsborough Inquests into the deaths of the 96 individuals at the Hillsborough Stadium on 15 April 1989 which were Article 2 engaged Inquests before a Jury
• We represented King Edward VII Hospital at the Inquest into the death of Jacintha Saldanha, the nurse who committed suicide after being the victim of a hoax call from an Australian radio station. This attracted worldwide publicity and issues with various coronial documents being leaked to the press
• We have represented various Government bodies in wide ranging Article 2 Inquests with a Jury, including the Inquest into the death of Naomi Bryant where a life prisoner had been released on parole and had gone on to commit a murder
• We have represented train operators and their employees, for example, at the Potters Bar 2010 Inquest into the deaths caused by the Potters Bar derailment
• We have also represented train drivers of rail operators at Inquests into suicides on the track
• We understand disclosure issues involving public interest immunity and official secrets
• We have represented companies in connection with the death of their employees and advised on possible health and safety prosecutions
• We regularly act for charities who operate care homes and have advised in cases involving residents who died in suspicious circumstances or as a result of the actions of third parties, and assisted suicide
• We have acted for individuals at the Inquest where a family member has died as a result of medical negligence and then pursued a claim under the Fatal Accidents Act on their behalf. We also have significant experience of managing and supporting individuals and employees who may be witnesses at Inquests and Inquiries, as well as dealing with media interest and advising on reputational issues.