Referred to Coroner

[Kay111]

We had a call from the Medical Examiner this morning to say dad's case has been referred to the coroner. I don't know why but it's really upsetting! As if it wasn't the peaceful natural death we had witnessed but something has gone wrong somewhere. It's really upset my mum too and that's what I hate most of all.

Dad went into hospital initially (we thought) because he had a chest infection and his delerium made him shut down a little and he refused to drink so he needed IV antibiotics/fluids. That happened before once so it wasn't unexpected. All his vitals were good for a couple of days then one afternoon his heartrate plummeted and so they sent him to have a CT scan where they found two huge bleeds on the brain. The docs referred it to a specialist department who said it was inoperable. The medical examiner says because it was a bleed on the brain it needs to go to a coroner but honestly I wish they'd just seen how frail he'd become in every way. Everything was failing. I just wish he didn't have to go through any more indignity of being examined or whatever and just be allowed to rest peacefully. I understand there are procedures but it doesn't make it less distressing.

Is it uncommon to be referred to a coroner when a person dies in a hospital?!

The one thing that was making it lighter for me and mum is that dad's death was so peaceful and it felt like he was ready to go. This just ruins that somehow.

 

[Xhanlbxx]

Hi Kay ,

Sorry to hear that yourself and your mother are having to deal with this also now.

I think it may be due to the bleeds which are most likely to do with the illness your father had as the body stops working when the brain is not functioning correctly .

Due to him being in hospital it may be something they have to do to cover their backs for medical reasons - you know what hospitals are like at the moment .

I’m sorry that you are having to go through this though - thoughts are with you and hopefully you can find peace soon xxx

 

[Jale]

Sorry that you are now having to face something else - I always thought that if someone had died in hospital and therefore being seen by doctors/consultants there would be no need for this, is there anyone at the hospital that you could ask why?

 

[Kay111]

Thank you @Xhanlbxx - yes they said it was because a bleed on the brain wasn't specific enough (as in it was a symptom of something, rather than a cause) but I've googled it (!) and these things sometimes just happen when you're older and have had high blood pressure in life like dad had. I wish the medical examiner/doctors at the hospital could have just decided that rather than passing it to the coroner which somehow makes it sound so sinister. Maybe I've just read too many crime novels! but the association isn't good.
@Jale - that's what I think too?! Surely there's no one better placed than the doctors and consultants who were treating him. I'm going to ask the Medical Examiner to explain it to me again when she calls back (they said they'd call and let me know when the coroner had the referral) because I was in so much shock I didn't quite take it all in the first time.

 

[thistlejak]

MIL died in hospital January after a fall in her EMI Home - she broke her hip and jaw - her death was referred to the coroner as :
She died after a witnessed fall in the care home
She died with 8 days of an operation - they had to give her a GA to fix the jaw and that combined with 11 years of dementia and other medical issues was just too much for her.
It took 2 weeks for us to be able to register the death. The Coroners office kept us informed as to what and why things were happening.

Unfortunately it is a legal requirement sometimes but it doesn't make things any easier - it just adds to the stress

 

[Jaded'n'faded]

There are very set rules about when a death must be referred to a coroner, which I think were made stricter following Shipman.

I know it's distressing but please don't worry - it's just a formality.

 

[Kay111]

MIL died in hospital January after a fall in her EMI Home - she broke her hip and jaw - her death was referred to the coroner as :
She died after a witnessed fall in the care home
She died with 8 days of an operation - they had to give her a GA to fix the jaw and that combined with 11 years of dementia and other medical issues was just too much for her.
It took 2 weeks for us to be able to register the death. The Coroners office kept us informed as to what and why things were happening.

Unfortunately it is a legal requirement sometimes but it doesn't make things any easier - it just adds to the stress

I'm sorry about your MIL, that sounds like it was very stressful. I'm glad the Coroners kept you in the loop. Xxx

 

[Kay111]

There are very set rules about when a death must be referred to a coroner, which I think were made stricter following Shipman.

I know it's distressing but please don't worry - it's just a formality.

I know you're right, Jaded, thank you. I think it was just the shock of it when we'd just about reconciled everything in our heads.

 

[Bunpoots]

My dad had to go to the coroner as his death was unexpected @Kay111. They spoke to me on the phone the next day and once they were satisfied that nothing untoward had happened at his carehome they released him without an examination.

He too had had a bleed on the brain (some weeks before) and they decided the most likely cause of his death was another one. I hope you get your dad released soon.

 

[k.woodley]

We had a call from the Medical Examiner this morning to say dad's case has been referred to the coroner. I don't know why but it's really upsetting! As if it wasn't the peaceful natural death we had witnessed but something has gone wrong somewhere. It's really upset my mum too and that's what I hate most of all.

Dad went into hospital initially (we thought) because he had a chest infection and his delerium made him shut down a little and he refused to drink so he needed IV antibiotics/fluids. That happened before once so it wasn't unexpected. All his vitals were good for a couple of days then one afternoon his heartrate plummeted and so they sent him to have a CT scan where they found two huge bleeds on the brain. The docs referred it to a specialist department who said it was inoperable. The medical examiner says because it was a bleed on the brain it needs to go to a coroner but honestly I wish they'd just seen how frail he'd become in every way. Everything was failing. I just wish he didn't have to go through any more indignity of being examined or whatever and just be allowed to rest peacefully. I understand there are procedures but it doesn't make it less distressing.

Is it uncommon to be referred to a coroner when a person dies in a hospital?!

The one thing that was making it lighter for me and mum is that dad's death was so peaceful and it felt like he was ready to go. This just ruins that somehow.

I think it is so easy to get stressed at this time anyway. My husband died peacefully at home with lung cancer and then they wanted an autopsy. This revealed that there had been a weakness in his lungs - in the alveoli area - and that will affect how they treat patients with his symptoms in the future. I think Dave would have been glad that his autopsy found something that helped others. Every thing that doctors discover in an autopsy can help others in the future - it really helped me when I understood this - hope this helps a little for you too K

 

[Kay111]

Thank you @Bunpoots for sharing your experience. It does sound like just a formality and hopefully dad will get released quick.

@k.woodley - im glad that your husband was able to help so many in future.

it is really stressful being in this kind of limbo 😔 We want to just get the funeral part over and done with. It sounds harsh but it's not because we want to forget him quickly but for me I feel sad he's just lying in some medical facility, not even dressed as he was in a hospital gown etc. I know it's silly but I can't help feel that way 😔 they said they'd call on Friday afternoon to give us an update and they never did which is just adding to things.

 

[Xhanlbxx]

Thank you @Bunpoots for sharing your experience. It does sound like just a formality and hopefully dad will get released quick.

@k.woodley - im glad that your husband was able to help so many in future.

it is really stressful being in this kind of limbo 😔 We want to just get the funeral part over and done with. It sounds harsh but it's not because we want to forget him quickly but for me I feel sad he's just lying in some medical facility, not even dressed as he was in a hospital gown etc. I know it's silly but I can't help feel that way 😔 they said they'd call on Friday afternoon to give us an update and they never did which is just adding to things.

I know exactly how you feel as we are in the same limbo until the 3rd April and dad passed 9 March x

 

[Palerider]

We had a call from the Medical Examiner this morning to say dad's case has been referred to the coroner. I don't know why but it's really upsetting! As if it wasn't the peaceful natural death we had witnessed but something has gone wrong somewhere. It's really upset my mum too and that's what I hate most of all.

Dad went into hospital initially (we thought) because he had a chest infection and his delerium made him shut down a little and he refused to drink so he needed IV antibiotics/fluids. That happened before once so it wasn't unexpected. All his vitals were good for a couple of days then one afternoon his heartrate plummeted and so they sent him to have a CT scan where they found two huge bleeds on the brain. The docs referred it to a specialist department who said it was inoperable. The medical examiner says because it was a bleed on the brain it needs to go to a coroner but honestly I wish they'd just seen how frail he'd become in every way. Everything was failing. I just wish he didn't have to go through any more indignity of being examined or whatever and just be allowed to rest peacefully. I understand there are procedures but it doesn't make it less distressing.

Is it uncommon to be referred to a coroner when a person dies in a hospital?!

The one thing that was making it lighter for me and mum is that dad's death was so peaceful and it felt like he was ready to go. This just ruins that somehow.

Hmm its quite distressing when someone has died what seems a natural death. My dad was referred to the coroners even though he died from an aggressive metastatic lung cancer. It was all because there was some unestablished link to him working with asbestos way back in the day. The verdict was left open in case there was any further evidence to establish if there was a link -but that has never materialized.

@Jaded'n'faded is right there are certain circumstances where the cause of death is unclear and this has to be referred to the coroner. It might be that the medical team felt this was appropriate given the circumstances surrounding the death that perhaps were not clearly explained at the time, often these aren't because of any wrong doing, more out of possible unforeseen or unknown events.

It took a few months before we could have the funeral so not an easy time especially with my mum in the early stages of dementia, but when it was over I could see why the coroner was involved.

 

[Kay111]

It feels like a long time, doesn't it @Xhanlbxx ?

Oh @Palerider that does sound like it would have been distressing at the time. But yes I can see why they has to investigate.

I called the Medical Examiners office this afternoon for an update as they said they'd call me back last week and didn't. So many delays - first of all because of the junior doctors strike they couldn't get a sign off promptly at the hospital and then they couldn't refer to the coroner on Friday because their computer systems had gone down 🤦🏻‍♀️ in all practical ways I know it doesn't matter but...just...
Gah. (Btw, we support the JD strike but its still frustrating).

At least the lady reassured me and said that she couldn't confirm 100% because ot wasn't her place, but to her it looked like the Coroners referral would just be a formality and would probably be signed off soon. So that's a relief.

Dad is probably floating about somewhere in the ether laughing at how I'm getting all stressed about this. I can almost hear him telling me very gently to "stop being silly!".

 

[Palerider]

It feels like a long time, doesn't it @Xhanlbxx ?

Oh @Palerider that does sound like it would have been distressing at the time. But yes I can see why they has to investigate.

I called the Medical Examiners office this afternoon for an update as they said they'd call me back last week and didn't. So many delays - first of all because of the junior doctors strike they couldn't get a sign off promptly at the hospital and then they couldn't refer to the coroner on Friday because their computer systems had gone down 🤦🏻‍♀️ in all practical ways I know it doesn't matter but...just...
Gah. (Btw, we support the JD strike but its still frustrating).

At least the lady reassured me and said that she couldn't confirm 100% because ot wasn't her place, but to her it looked like the Coroners referral would just be a formality and would probably be signed off soon. So that's a relief.

Dad is probably floating about somewhere in the ether laughing at how I'm getting all stressed about this. I can almost hear him telling me very gently to "stop being silly!".

Sounds like a quick discussion round the facts might be sufficient to move forward. A lot of deaths do get discussed with the coroner just in case there needs to be a formal inquest -hopefully that won't happen.