Representing Families at Inquests: A Practical Guide, 2 – 3 October 2024, Exchange Chambers, Manchester

This conference presents a comprehensive guide to the practice and procedures when representing a family at an inquest. You will hear from an excellent programme of speakers, all experienced in their involvement in inquests, who will provide you with case examples to help you to put the theory into practice. You will also learn more about AvMA’s important role in representing families.

Bookings open now.

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Programme

Day One: Wednesday 2 October 2024

Chair: Lisa O’Dwyer, Director Medico-Legal Services, Action Against Medical Accidents

09.15  Registration & refreshments          

09.50  Chair’s Introduction

09.55  AvMA’s Pro-Bono Inquest Service

•  Update on AvMA’s evidence to Justice Committee January 2024 re progress to coroner’s service since 2021
• Criteria for people accessing AvMA’s pro bono inquest service
• Terms and conditions of use
• Types of advice and representation

Lisa O’Dwyer, Director Medico-Legal Service, Action Against Medical Accidents

10:45 The Pathologists Role In Inquests

• Coroner’s post mortems
• The small window of opportunity that exists for families to have their own PM at their own cost 
•  Who decides whether a toxicology report is necessary and how can this be done once there is a death
• Other common problems from pathologists

Speaker to be confirmed

11:25  Refreshments

11:40  Preparation for Inquest & Preparing for the Pre-Inquest Review

• Client care and managing the family’s expectations
• Taking the family’s evidence: What did the family witness?  What were they expecting to happen? What are their concerns? Drafting the statements and giving evidence.
•  Looking at funding options
• The post-mortem: Challenging the post-mortem; second post-mortem; secondary examination of tissue samples
•  What to do when the coroner doesn’t open an inquest. How practitioners might challenge the coroner’s decision to discontinue the investigation where cause of death “becomes clear before inquest”, as per Part 2, chapter 4, clause 37 Judicial Review and Courts Bill/Act
• Things to consider in the Pre-Inquest Review:

–  Scope of inquest

– Requesting witnesses

• PIR Advocacy tips for the solicitor practitioner: Being prepared and managing the PIR; How to approach the coroner; Knowing what to ask for at the PIR; Essential case law – things you should know

Sara Sutherland, Barrister, Exchange Chambers; & Anna Mills Morgan, Director, McKenzie Jones Solicitors

12:55  Lunch

13:40  Disclosure and Expert Evidence

• Obligations to disclose and management by coroners. How to be vigilant about this, especially as the inquest can be discontinued where cause of death becomes clear before inquest (Part 2, chapter 4, clause 37, Judicial Review and Courts Bill/Act
• Typical documents to consider on disclosure:

– Medical records – what records can be asked for and which ones are required: Complaints documentation

– Other reports to consider

– Mortality and Morbidity Meetings (M&M meetings)

– Use of hospital policies and guidelines

– Duty of candour letters

• Patient Safety Incident Review Framework (PSIRF)
• When should a coroner appoint an independent medical expert?  The art of persuasion and when to ask for a court-appointed expert
• Instructing the expert: Considerations for the coroner’s court, not civil claim.  Timing of the report.  How to manage your expert evidence: Issues for consideration when disclosing expert evidence
• How to deal with causation when there is no clear cause of death

Leila Benyounes, Barrister, Parklane Plowden 

14:55  Refreshments

15:10Legal Update

Alex Williams, Barrister, Exchange Chambers

16:00Crowd Justice Funding

• What is it?
• What does it cover?
• How does it work for inquests?

Maeve Storey, Head of Crowd Justice

Private funding and/or CFA’s

• When to use a CFA?
• What should the risk assessment cover?
• How will inquest costs be recovered under a CFA?

Ben Petrecz, Costs Lawyer, Advocate & Senior Costs Consultant, Partners in Costs

Inequality

• How do the current funding options achieve equality of arms
• Are they sufficient to ensure that families receive an equal level of representation at the Inquest?
• If not, what could be done to ensure that families receive an equal service?

Barrister to be confirmed

17.15   Chair’s Day One Closing Remarks

Day Two: Thursday 3 October 2024

Chair: Chris Barnes KC, Barrister, Exchange Chambers

09:00  Registration & refreshments  

09:15  Chair’s Introduction

09:20  Article 2

• How to argue Article 2 is engaged with reference to recent decisions, especially Court of Appeal decision in R (Maguire) v HM Senior Coroner Blackpool, Fylde; Parkinson v Kent Senior Coroner (2018)
• Benefits of an Article 2 inquest: Coroner’s narrative conclusions and language used
• Public body requirement Article 2: private hospitals – can an Article 2 investigation extend to a private organisation where care was funded by NHS?
• What the future might look like with new Bill of Rights – potential ramifications on Inquests
• Alternatives to Article 2

Louis Browne KC, Barrister,  Exchange Chambers

10:05 Parallel Investigations and Learning from Inquests

• Referral of cases to third party agencies – when might this happen and what impact might this have on an inquest?
• When might investigatory bodies eg CQC be made properly interested persons in an inquest?
• Action plans; effective engagement with this process
• Regulation 28 / Prevention of future death reports (PFD) – making the most of this process in court and post-inquest

Barrister to be confirmed

10:50   Refreshments

11:05  “The Preventable Deaths Tracker tool”

• Coronial data
• Learning lessons following inquests

Dr Georgia Richards DPhil (Oxon) BSc (Hons I), Research Fellow, Kings College London

11:50 Chair’s closing remarks, followed by lunch

NB: Programme and timings may be subject to change