Postmortem report

[Mepop]

Have any of you requested and read a postmortem medical report of a loved one? I know it will be upsetting to read so trying to decide whether I want to.

Sorry I can't help but would like to know myself how this is done, and if I want to see it, as my Uncle has recently died.

Yes I did for my late DH because I wanted to know why he died suddenly.

Yes, I have read them.

Overall, I am glad that I did.

They answered some questions, but also poised me others.

I was as ready as I could be mentally, and had no doubt in my mind that I wanted to read them though, if you are unsure at this moment in time then perhaps now isn’t the right time but you could always request it so you have it for such time that you do feel ready if that makes sense?

one I read straight away.

one I had, then waited a few days until I was absolutely ready to read it.

It is upsetting and it is painful but it gave me the nearest thing to some form of closure that I personally felt that I was going to get.

Both of them were for my siblings, both of which were very sudden and traumatic deaths.

Take care OP and do feel free to message me personally with any questions you may have.

I haven’t, I had a quick phone call from the coroners office after my husband’s PM to determine cause of death but I was so shocked and traumatised I couldn’t take anything in. They didn’t make the offer to send the full report.
Do you know if you can request one from years ago?

Yes I read my dad's. He died from a horrible industrial disease. I know he would have wanted the information himself, if that makes sense, so i felt like i was doing it for him. It was a hard read but I don't regret it.

Yes I did - my husband died very suddenly four months ago of something extremely rare. Some people on here (thanks sooo much for that - you really knew how to make a bad situation even worse) suggested that he must have had some kind of underlying condition which would have made him more susceptible. The coroner sent me the full report but rang me up beforehand to tell me it was coming and advised me to read it when I had some support. I made an appointment with my lovely GP and she went through it with me. That was incredibly helpful as she could tell me what was relevant and translate some of the more technical language. It turned out that there was nothing else wrong with him - everything else was normal or ‘unremarkable’. We’re now going down the route of genetic testing for my children as there’s a small possibility there may be a genetic link. I’m glad I asked for the full report however I still have so many unanswered questions about the circumstances of his death.

I have but wished I hadn't.
I think if you know the cause of death and don't really need the additional medical info then don't read it.
They're very graphic, intimate and thorough. I don't know how much to say here really as I dont wish to upset you.

💐💐

Yes, I have. It was matter of fact, very medical and not upsetting although I thought it would be.

I imagine it depends on your relationship to the deceased but also, I think, to the manner of the death, that would be the deciding factor perhaps?

You can get a copy of the post mortem at any time though so if you're not ready or don't want to see it now, you needn't, now or ever if you prefer.

The one I read had NO PHOTOS at all. I can imagine that would be upsetting, I certainly wouldn't have wanted to see photos.

I did for my Dad. He caught MRSA after a bypass and he died.

I wanted to know what happened in the days before he died of septicaemia.

It wasn’t easy to read (I have healthcare background so understood everything) but it highlighted that Dad had arterial plaque in his aorta and in his cerebral blood vessels.

It let me know that I risked vascular dementia and adjust my diet and lifestyle accordingly.

So to give some context, this is for my father who died in a RTA. I have been told he died from injuries from the accident but I do not have any idea what injuries he sustained, I was strongly advised not to see his body before the funeral.

What has the Coroner already told you? With my DH the coroner gave a quick verbal report, but we felt that we needed more.

It depends whether you will think it will help you or will be more upsetting. We were able to see DH's body - my DD needed to, my DS didn't want to.

@Mepop in those circumstances I really wouldn't. You know he had an accident, you know he was badly injured and you were advised not to view him. You know he didn't survive.

PM reports are incredibly graphic and reading about his exact injuries won't change what you already know.

If you do decide to read it, you need to be prepared for very detailed graphic descriptions of his injuries in blunt medical language.

(I've read a lot of PM's)

I read my mums after she was killed in a car accident.
I still have it saved, but never have or will read it again.

I didn't see her before the funeral either.

I’m sorry for your loss. Having seen your update I wouldn’t. I think it would be very upsetting and will almost certainly contain too much information. I wouldn’t want to dwell on the details too much, you may find it hard to get them out of your head afterwards.

Yes I have. It was clinical, factual, and not upsetting (for me). If you’re not used to reading medical language you might need someone to help make sense of it.

It also wasn’t as enlightening or informative as I thought it might be.

I think it completely depends on you as a person and how you process things. I wouldn’t be able to deal with not knowing the detail. Others would find it upsetting to know.

Yes, I was sent the post mortem report following the inquest which opened after my mum's death. I asked for the coroner to send me their report. It was thorough (no photos). She died in hospital after complications from a medical procedure and they wanted to see how she sustained internal bleeding.

I have never looked at the paperwork again since the first time, but I have it saved away with all her documents. It helped at the time to understand what happened. I was at the hospital when she died and it was very sudden so I appreciated having the paperwork to give me a bit more closure. It all happened over COVID though so I didn't get the report until nearly 18 months after her death.

Please ask for it if you think it will help.

Yes I have read one for my baby daughter who died from an infection (although this was not known and reason for the PM was to determine the cause) the day she was born. There are no photos and it's very matter of fact and medical - that said it's very graphic and detailed and in hindsight I wish I'd never had read it and it often plays on my mind some of the details of what happened as her body tried to fight the infection are harrowing and haunt me to this day - that said had never read it and knew it exisited I would always have wanted to know for myself what it said as it was such a shocking thing to happen. That's probably not very helpful but if you can accept injuries from the accident or even some more verbal details from medical professional involved I would recommended that rather than the full report - but i totally understand why that might not be enough.
I'm so sorry for your loss and that this is even something you have to consider

Not me personally, but a very close friend and her family. Her brother was found dead. The pm report and 999 call of him being found were released to them. I have been given them both. It had been truly distressing to all of them and had a terrible effect. It's very difficult because their desperate need to grasp the facts and "know why" has obviously been huge, but being presented with the bare facts of their relative of a pile of gorey information had been terribly distressing and none of them are coping well. If it helps none of them were able to see him when he died as he had been dead several days so was deemed in an unfit condition and the report details this do it is a bit if a case of the last memory of their loved one being a heap of information which is not describing him as they would recall him. I think it is personal decision based both on why you want to read it and the facts during the death and what happend afterwards maybe.

So sorry for your loss. How awful.

I don't think I would for a traffic accident because I do not personally think that would help.
I read my mum's, when she died very suddenly, and in that scenario it was very useful to see that she was absolutely not going to live, and was very very poorly, and actually it was surprising she had been 'well' up until a week or so before death, the state her organs were in.
But I will never read it again .

Sorry, just seen your update. Must likely based on this I think it might be terribly distressing- you must consider if it would haunt you always imagining him potentiality with terrible injuriesdescribed in very graphic detail ( but not knowing exactly what they mean- the mind goes into overdrive and out can drive you mad). It may be very harrowing. I'd probably not read it

I'm very sorry for your loss but that is not what GP appointments are for! GP appointments are often extremely difficult to get, are there for sick people to get the treatment they need and are meant to be 10 mins long max. I understand you wanted explanations of the post mortem report but that is what the Coroner is there for. You should've called them