Coroner

[tumpymummy]

My MIL died on Saturday from what we were told was a bowel and lung infection. She was 91 years old and for the last two years in particular had been riddled with pain from arthritis and osteoporosis. She has been saying she wants to die for the last 2 years so I saw her sudden death as an escape for her and now she is at peace. She was taken ill suddenly on Wednesday night, my husband and I were told to travel to be with her on Thursday as her condition was inoperable so we did and we spent her last 48 hours with her, although we weren't actually with her when she passed. But now rather than just getting a death certificate it has been passed to the Coroners. I understand that this happens with sudden deaths but this has left me confused, wondering if we should have fought more for her when the doctors said that there was nothing they could do? At the time we were very happy with the way the doctors and nurses spoke to us and what they said. I'm just confused that a Coroner is now involved.

Sorry to hear about your MIL . Please don't feel worried or guilty, the death being referred to a coroner absolutely does not mean you have done anything wrong or there was anything more you or the medical staff could or should have done. It's normal procedure for the coroner to be involved if the doctors aren't 100% sure what to put on the death certificate (for statistical reasons it's important to be accurate about the primary and secondary causes rather than just guessing) which is quite common where the death was sudden.

For instance my Dad died very suddenly at home in his sleep - we were told it was highly likely to be a heart attack which made sense in the circumstances, but obviously there was no way of being certain so it was referred to the coroner for investigation - after a few weeks and an autopsy/post mortem it was confirmed it was indeed a heart attack and we then got the death certificate and could register the death and do everything else as normal.

Being referred to the coroner for investigation is different from there needing to be an inquest or from implying any fault/blame to be attached to the death. You shouldn't need to do anything more, just wait for them to contact you, but in my experience the coroners office were really helpful and kind when we did contact them with questions so do feel free - hopefully you've been given their contact details? In our case it was a bit stressful/emotional waiting to find out exactly what happened (even though we were 99% sure anyway), and it delayed the funeral and sorting out some of the practical matters by a few weeks as we didn't have the death certificate, but the coroner gave us an interim certificate while we were waiting which most places (e.g. banks, utility companies) accepted and as I say they were very helpful and kind, and we didn't have to attend any hearings or meetings or anything.

Happy to try and answer any further questions about our experience if it helps?

Thankyou @maxelly that's really helpful. Everyone throughout this journey has been really kind including the doctors which is why it felt strange that this was being referred. Coroner is due to phone hubby today so hopefully that will explain more too.