Coroners and sudden death investigations

We understand that the loss of a loved one is an incredibly difficult time. This information is designed to provide you with some information about the Coroner’s process and the steps ahead. We want to ensure you are supported and informed throughout this process.

A Coroner is an independent judicial office holder responsible for investigating certain types of deaths.

• HM Senior Coroner: Mr. J Heath
• HM Area Coroner: Ms. C Cundy
• HM Assistant Coroners: A team of additional coroners who assist in investigations

Coroners work independently from the police and local authorities, although they have staff who work with them from these services.

The Coroners' office is located at The Old Courthouse, Racecourse Lane, Northallerton.

When is a coroner involved in a death?

Coroners are not involved in all deaths.

There is a duty for a coroner to investigate deaths when:

• the deceased person died a violent or unnatural death 
• the cause of death is unknown or
• the deceased died while in custody or otherwise in state detention

If the coroner isn’t investigating a death, then the Medical Examiner will be scrutinising the medical records and is the person who will permit the death to be registered.

Who refers a death to the coroner?

A referral would usually be made by a Medical Examiner, a General Practitioner, a Hospital Doctor or the Police if they have attended the death.

If a death certificate is being issued by a Doctor and you have concerns, then please bring those to the attention of the Medical Examiner when they contact you.

Medical practitioners: referrals must be made in writing on the form provided to your organisation and emailed to coroner@northyorkshire.police.uk.

Contact details

Your enquiry will be dealt with as soon as possible. If you are able to email, we may be able to deal with it quicker and direct it to the correct person to help you.

If the death has been referred to the coroner, then the investigation will be carried out by the Coroner's Officers under the direction of the coroner. They can be contacted on coroner@northyorkshire.police.uk. They will provide you with a contact phone number when they contact you.

The Coroner’s Administrative Team deal with the listing of Inquests, requests for archived files, invoices, general correspondence and Treasure Inquests. They can be contacted on coronersadmin@northyorks.gov.uk or 01609 533843.

The coroner’s Service Manager is Rachel Davies and can be contacted via coronersadmin@northyorks.gov.uk in the first instance. If you need to communicate confidentially, please give brief details in the email as to the reason for your request for contact.

Where can I get further support?

Further support is available from:

• MIRT (Major Incident Response Team): Support for those affected by traumatic incidents. Contact via email: alex.sutcliffe@northyorks.gov.uk or phone: 07974745194.
• Cruse Bereavement Care: A helpline for anyone affected by bereavement. Call 0808 808 1677.
• The Silver Line: A free, confidential helpline for older people. Call 08004708090.
• Age UK: A free helpline for older people. Call 0800 678 1602.
• Coroners' Courts Support Service: Offers emotional and practical support during the inquest process. Call 0300 111 2141 or email helpline@ccss.org.uk

Can I register the death?

In order for a death to be registered, a medical cause of death must be known. Once the coroner is satisfied that the cause of death is known, to the best of knowledge and belief, and natural then you will need to register the death. The coroner’s office will explain this to you in more detail.

How do I find information on historic cases?

North Yorkshire Council and City of York Council provide the coroner with secure space to store archived files. Historically, the coroner may not have archived files with the local council. These files remain under the legal control of the coroner. In order to establish whether the coroner can allow access to any documents on file, please provide the following information to coronersadmin@northyorks.gov.uk

• your full name and address
• your relationship to the deceased (please provide evidence of that relationship)
• name of the deceased
• date of death
• place of death (or area / town)
• whether you believe that an inquest was held (this information should be on the registrar’s death certificate)

We will deal with your request as soon as we are able, but we ask for your understanding that current ongoing investigations must take priority.

Contact details for register offices

North Yorkshire

Contact us

Request a copy of the death certificates

The City of York

Apply online at the City of York Council website.

Tel: 01904 654477

Keighley and Bradford, West Yorkshire

This includes deaths at Airedale Hospital.

Tel: 01274 432151

Leeds, West Yorkshire

Apply online at the Leeds City Council website.

Tel: 0113 2224408

Lancaster

Tel: 0845 0530021

Teesside

This includes deaths at James Cook University Hospital.

Apply online at the Middlesbrough Council website.

Tel: 01642 729004

Hull

Apply online at the Hull City Council website.

Tel: 01482 300300