inquest

ANSI

Is it possible to get copy of an inquest of an extended family member - cousin? Are they public documents. In a book about a 1973 murder the writer says he got copy from National Archives

LovelyHurling

These are public documents, and yes one can access them even as a member of the public for one's own... eh, amusement.

http://www.citizensinformation.ie/en/death/sudden_or_unexplained_death/inquests.html

Copies of official reports of inquests are available from the local Coroner's office. To obtain a report, you will need to write to the Coroner's Office requesting this information and including the name of the deceased, the date of death, the hospital involved (if any) and the date of the inquest (if you have this information).

ANSI

LovelyHurling wrote: »

These are public documents, and yes one can access them even as a member of the public for one's own... eh, amusement.

http://www.citizensinformation.ie/en/death/sudden_or_unexplained_death/inquests.html

Thanks;)i should ahve spotted that the info was at citizens info:o

Victor

I understand that the summary is readily available for about €8, but it may be much more difficult to get the actual details.

ANSI

Victor wrote: »

I understand that the summary is readily available for about €8, but it may be much more difficult to get the actual details.

Thanks for the tip. Why difficult if they are public documents?

Victor

Perhaps that is the wrong word - 'not straightforward' might be more accurate.

I imagine there may be some privacy issues over some data, that might also relate to family members, e.g. lving arrangements, medical information, etc.

ANSI

Victor wrote: »

Perhaps that is the wrong word - 'not straightforward' might be more accurate.

I imagine there may be some privacy issues over some data, that might also relate to family members, e.g. lving arrangements, medical information, etc.

OK I see. Are the family of the deceased consulted and can the family insist on a person not seeing the file

Misty Moon

ANSI wrote: »

OK I see. Are the family of the deceased consulted and can the family insist on a person not seeing the file

Sorry for digging up an old thread, but I have the same question now. I found out at the weekend that the inquest into my sister's death (a suicide) was held last week. Obviously her husband didn't feel the need to tell me about it - he told my oldest sister but she also seemed to think it wasn't important to tell the rest of us (we're a messed-up family, let's just say). It's highly unlikely I would have been able to get time off work to fly in and attend but I'm pretty upset that I didn't even know it was happening. I checked the citizens information website and saw that anyone can request a report once the inquest is finished and phoned them this morning. I did ask if I can get a report without the next-of-kin being notified but the woman on the phone seemed to get a bit mixed up and starting talking about next-of-kin always being notified of an inquest so I'm uncertain. Can anyone confirm whether or not next-of-kin are notified if someone requests an inquest report?

Also, I was just wondering if 14 months is about average to wait for an inquest to be held? I didn't even know that there would be an inquest - I thought for cases of suicide, especially where there's a long history of depression and suicide attempts, that it wouldn't be necessary. Or that they'd automatically do a post-mortem.

Victor

I'm sorry to hear this

Misty Moon wrote: »

Can anyone confirm whether or not next-of-kin are notified if someone requests an inquest report?

Highly unlikely. Getting the summary report is a straight forward enquiry, no more complicated than asking for a birth cert or the like - you pay your money and you walk away with the document. Any one can do it. However, the information on that is limited.

Getting the full report may be more difficult.

Also, I was just wondering if 14 months is about average to wait for an inquest to be held?

It can vary a lot, depending on the circumstances. Some are very straight forward, others are not. It may depend on things like witness (family, medical personnel, Garda) availability.

Or that they'd automatically do a post-mortem.

Post mortem would be very common in sudden, unexpected deaths. A post mortem will establish only the cause of death, e.g. blood loss. The inquest establishes the facts that surround that, e.g. blood loss was following road traffic collision involving drink driving. There may be further criminal and civil cases to assign responsibility.

I didn't even know that there would be an inquest - I thought for cases of suicide, especially where there's a long history of depression and suicide attempts, that it wouldn't be necessary.

Few people who suffer from depression commit suicide - 25% of the entire population has a serious mental health problem at some point in their life, but less than 1% of people die from suicide. Even in cases where suicide is suspected, it might actually be death by misadventure, e.g. a drunk person who goes swimming.

Only if the coroner is fully satisfied would there be no inquest. This happened in the case of a friend of mine where the autopsy result was consistent with his medical history of epilepsy. Other cases are where someone (especially older people) are seriously ill and under constant medical supervision and the death is consistent with the illness.

Misty Moon

Thanks for that. Even if it's limited information, it'd be nice to know some of the facts. Despite my BIL's protestations that he'd tell us anything we wanted to know, nothing has been forthcoming. Hearing about the inquest hit me harder than I would have thought it would. I'll get a letter off to them soon anyway - it sounds strange, I'm sure, but I think it'll be oddly comforting to just see the bare facts laid out in black and white.