Deaths reported to a Coroner

There are a number of circumstances when a death is reported to a Coroner.

They include :-

• when no doctor has treated the deceased during his or her last illness or not attended upon the deceased in the last 14 days before death
• when the death occurred during an operation, or before full recovery from anaesthetic
• when a patient has died within 24 hours of being admitted to hospital (by local Coroner’s request),
• when the death was possibly due to an industrial disease
• when the death was caused by violence or any other unnatural cause for example a road traffic accident or another type of accident
• when the death occurred in prison or in police custody
• when a doctor is unable to give a proper certificate of a cause of death
• when the circumstances of the death are suspicious

Whenever a death has been reported to the Coroner, the Registrar must wait for the Coroner to finish his or her enquiries before the death can be registered.

Who reports a death to the Coroner?

Deaths are usually reported by the police, or by a doctor called to a death if it is sudden or unexpected. In other cases a Registrar of deaths may make the report and must do so in the circumstances outlined above.

The Hertfordshire Coroners Office

The Hertfordshire Coroners Office is based at:

The Old Courthouse,

St Albans Road East,

Hatfield,

Hertfordshire,

AL10 0ES 

The telephone numbers are: 01707 897405 or 897406 or 897407

The fax number is 01707 897398.

Broxbourne Registration Office

For registration of Births, Marriages, Partnerships and Deaths, residents are requested to contact the office during the opening hours given below. All visits are by appointment only. This will ensure that clients are seen promptly and will avoid lengthy waiting times.

Contact details:

Pat Norton
Broxbourne Registration Office
Bishops' College
Churchgate
Cheshunt
Hertfordshire
EN8 9XH

Tel: 01992 623107 / 01992 623578
Fax: 01992 627605
Email: broxbourne.registrars@hertscc.gov.uk

Opening hours: