Post-Mortems

Table of Contents

Overview

The coroner may arrange for a post-mortem to be conducted at the relevant hospital. This is usually performed by a pathologist. It must not be a doctor or pathologist who is involved in the care of the patient in the final month of his life. It must not be a doctor or pathologist whose opinion might be called into question at the inquest.

If the post-mortem reveals death by natural causes, the coroner certificate issued is equivalent to a death notification form. This is communicated to the Registrar and the death certificate is issued.

If the circumstances suggest unlawful killing, the post-mortem will usually be conducted by the State pathologists at the request of the coroner.

Removal of Body

Where a coroner considers it necessary to hold an inquest on or a post-mortem examination of the body of a deceased person, he may direct that the body be removed into a convenient mortuary or morgue or other suitable place (whether inside or outside his district) and kept therein until he otherwise directs. He may make such arrangements for the removal of the body as he considers necessary or desirable.

The person in charge of a mortuary, morgue or other place into which the body of a deceased person is directed to be removed shall allow the body to be deposited in such mortuary, morgue or other place and shall keep the body therein until the coroner otherwise directs. Any person who obstructs the removal of a body shall be guilty of an offence.

Exhumation

If violence or unnatural causes come to light after burial, the coroner may request the Minister to order the body to be exhumed. The coroner’s powers will apply as they would have applied if no burial had taken place.

The Minister may, as he thinks proper, either make or refuse to make the order. Every order made under this section for the exhumation of a body shall operate to authorise the exhumation in accordance with the terms of the order. Where the body of a deceased person is exhumed in pursuance of an order made under this section, the coroner concerned shall have the same powers and duties as he would if the body had not been buried.

Identification

For the purpose of establishing the identity of a deceased person, a coroner may request a member of An Garda Síochána; a designated officer of the Ombudsman Commission, where there is a relevant Ombudsman Commission investigation concerning the death of that person; a family member of the deceased person; or, if the circumstances of the death so require, a suitably qualified person who has expertise regarding the identification of human remains—

to view the body of the deceased person, or
if such a viewing would not assist with the identification of the deceased person or in certain circumstances, to examine and consider other evidence of identity of the deceased person,

The person so requested shall give evidence of identity of the deceased person to the coroner.

Where it is not possible to identify the deceased person, the absence of such identification shall not prevent the coroner from inquiring into the circumstances of the death of that person or from holding an inquest in relation to the death.

Preservation of Documents

Every deposition or note of the names and addresses of witnesses taken at an inquest, every report of a post-mortem examination made in pursuance of this Act and every record of the verdict returned at an inquest shall be preserved by the coroner.

When a coroner ceases to hold office, all documents preserved by him under this section shall be handed over to the county registrar for the county or county borough in which his district is situated and the county registrar shall preserve the documents.

A coroner or county registrar shall furnish a copy of any document preserved by him or her to every person who applies for a copy of such document and, except where the application is made on behalf of—

a Minister of the Government,
the Attorney General,
An Garda Síochána,
the Defence Forces,
the Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission, or
an applicant within the meaning of the Act,

shall charge for the copy such fee as may be prescribed.

Post-Mortem Examinations

A coroner may, for the purposes of inquiring into the death of a person, direct a registered medical practitioner to make a post-mortem examination of the body of the deceased person. Where a registered medical practitioner makes a post-mortem examination of the body of a deceased person in this case, he or she shall do so under the direction of the coroner.

Where a coroner has directed a registered medical practitioner to make a post-mortem examination of the body of a deceased person, he or she shall ensure, in so far as practicable, that a family member of the deceased person is informed of the fact. They must also be informed that material may be removed from the body and retained for the purposes of a post-mortem examination or an inquest in relation to the death of the person.

Where, in the opinion of the coroner, the report of a post-mortem examination furnished to him or her shows that an inquest in relation to the death is not necessary, it shall not be obligatory upon him or her to hold one.

Duty to Direct Post-Mortems

It shall be the duty of a coroner to direct that a post-mortem examination of the body of a deceased person whose death has been reported to him or her under this Act be made in the following cases:

the death of the person may, in the opinion of the coroner, have occurred in a violent or unnatural manner, or in suspicious circumstances;
the death of the person may, in the opinion of the coroner, have occurred unexpectedly and from unknown causes or in an unexplained manner;
the deceased person was, at the time of his or her death or immediately before his or her death, in State custody or detention;
the death of the person was a maternal death or a late maternal death;
the death of the person may, in the opinion of the coroner, have occurred in circumstances which, under provisions in that behalf contained in any other enactment, require that an inquest should be held;
the death of the person occurred as a result of an accident at work or was due to an industrial or occupational injury or disease or industrial poisoning.

It shall be the duty of a coroner to exercise his or her power to direct a post-mortem examination where:

a member of An Garda Síochána not below the rank of inspector,
a member of the Defence Forces not below the rank of commandant in a case of the death of a person who is subject to military law under the Defence Acts 1954 to 2015,
a duly authorised officer of a statutory body who is empowered under another enactment to investigate accidents, incidents or diseases resulting in death in a case in which the body is investigating the accident, incident or disease resulting in the death concerned, or
a designated officer of the Ombudsman Commission in a case in which there is a relevant Ombudsman Commission investigation,

requests him or her so to do and states the reasons for such request in writing.

Upon receipt of a request to direct a post-mortem examination in the case of a death in suspicious circumstances, a coroner shall direct a registered medical practitioner appointed by or on behalf of the Minister to make a post-mortem examination of the body of the deceased person.

Post-Mortem Examinations Directed by Coroner

A post-mortem examination of the body of a deceased person directed by a coroner shall be made by a registered medical practitioner. He or she may do so with the assistance of such other registered medical practitioners or such technical or clinical assistance as may be required for the examination, or both, as the first-mentioned registered medical practitioner considers appropriate for the examination.

A post-mortem examination of the body of a deceased person shall not be made by a registered medical practitioner who attended the deceased person within the period of 28 days before his or her death, nor shall a registered medical practitioner assist in making such an examination if he or she attended the deceased person within that period.

This does not apply to a registered medical practitioner who is a pathologist on the staff of, or associated with, a hospital, save where the coroner considers that the conduct of such practitioner in relation to his or her attendance on the deceased person is likely to be called in question at an inquest in relation to the death of that person.

Further Post-Mortem Examination

Where a post-mortem examination has been directed by a coroner, the coroner may direct the same registered medical practitioner, or another registered medical practitioner, to make a further post-mortem examination of the body of the deceased person concerned if the coroner is of opinion that:

a further post-mortem examination is necessary as further information relating to the death, or the circumstances of the death, becomes known after the first post-mortem examination was made, or
the first post-mortem examination was not made properly.

Medical Records of the Deceased

Where a coroner directs that a post-mortem examination of the body of a deceased person be made, the coroner may direct—

a person in charge of a hospital, or other health institution, in which the deceased person received treatment immediately before his or her death,
a medical practitioner, nurse or midwife who has possession or control of medical records relating to the deceased, or
a paramedic or advanced paramedic registered with the Pre-Hospital Emergency Care Council who has possession or control of medical records relating to the deceased,

to give to the registered medical practitioner making the examination, within such period as may be specified in the direction, such medical records relating to the deceased person as are, in the opinion of the coroner, necessary to enable a proper examination of the body.

A person to whom a direction is given by a coroner shall comply with the direction forthwith.

A person to whom a direction is given by a coroner may refuse to comply with the direction in relation to a medical record only if he or she would be entitled as a witness at an inquest to refuse to comply with a direction of the coroner to produce the record at the inquest.

A direction given by a coroner shall be given in writing or, if given orally, it shall be confirmed in writing as soon as practicable. The validity of a direction given by a coroner shall not be limited to the coroner’s district in respect of which he or she holds the office of coroner.

Where a person to whom a direction is given by a coroner fails or refuses to comply with the direction, other than in certain defined circumstances, the High Court may, on application to it in that behalf by the coroner:

order the person to comply with the direction immediately or within such period as the Court may determine and specify in the order, and
make such other order, if any, as it considers necessary to enable the order made to have effect and such order as to costs, if any, as it considers just.

An application may, if the High Court so directs, be heard otherwise than in public. In determining an application, the High Court shall have regard to:

the public interest in the medical record concerned being given for the purposes of the post-mortem examination of the body of the deceased person concerned,
the likely importance of the information contained in the medical record concerned for the purposes of that examination, and
the likely impact on the effectiveness of that examination if the medical record concerned is not given, or there is a delay in its being given, for the purposes of that examination.

A registered medical practitioner to whom medical records are given pursuant to a direction of a coroner or an order of the High court, shall return those records to the hospital or other health institution or the medical practitioner, nurse, midwife, paramedic or advanced paramedic, as the case may be, from whom they were received, as soon as practicable after the post-mortem examination of the body of the deceased person concerned has been made or, as may be appropriate, an inquest in relation to the death of that person has been held.

Report of Post-Mortem Examination

Where a post-mortem examination of the body of a deceased person is directed by a coroner, the registered medical practitioner to whom the direction was given shall, as soon as practicable, furnish a report in writing of the examination to the coroner.

A report of a post-mortem examination shall contain a record of any material, whether tissue, organs, biological fluids or other part of the body of the deceased person concerned, retained for further examination or for the purposes of an inquest in relation to the death of the person.

In a case where a request for a post-mortem examination is received by a coroner, the coroner to whom a report of the post-mortem examination is furnished shall, in accordance with the request, provide a copy of the report to, as may be appropriate:

a member of An Garda Síochána not below the rank of inspector,
a member of the Defence Forces not below the rank of commandant,
a duly authorised officer of a statutory body who is empowered under another enactment to investigate accidents, incidents or diseases resulting in death, or
a designated officer of the Ombudsman Commission.

The copy of the report shall be so provided not later than the commencement of an inquest in relation to the death of the person concerned or, if an inquest is not held, as soon as practicable after the coroner receives the report.

A coroner to whom a report of a post-mortem examination is furnished shall, if so requested by a family member of the deceased person concerned, provide a copy of the report to that family member.

The coroner shall not provide a copy of the report of a post-mortem examination furnished to him to a family member of the deceased person if the coroner thinks that it is not proper to do so as it may prejudice criminal proceedings in relation to the death of the deceased person that are being considered or have been instituted.

The above does not prevent a registered medical practitioner directed by a coroner to make the post-mortem examination of the body of a deceased person from furnishing a preliminary report of the examination to the coroner before the report is furnished to him or her.