Losing someone in a workplace accident is devastating, and families are often faced with unfamiliar legal processes at the worst possible time. Understanding how they fit together can help.
What is an inquest?
When a death at work is reported, a coroner investigates and holds an inquest. Under the Coroners and Justice Act 2009, the inquest must establish who the person was and how, when and where they died. It is a fact-finding inquiry, not a trial: it does not decide civil or criminal liability. Workplace deaths are often heard with a jury. The inquest ends with a conclusion, such as accident or misadventure, unlawful killing, or a narrative conclusion describing the circumstances.
Where the State may have failed to protect life, the inquest must also consider in what circumstances the person died. The coroner can issue a prevention of future deaths report to organisations that need to act.
What can the family do at the inquest?
Close family members are interested persons. They can see evidence in advance, ask questions of witnesses, and be legally represented. Legal aid is limited but may be available through exceptional case funding in some cases, and a solicitor handling a civil claim can often represent the family at the inquest.
What does the HSE do?
The HSE, or the local authority for some workplaces, investigates serious workplace deaths, often jointly with the police where manslaughter may be involved. It can issue improvement and prohibition notices and prosecute companies and individuals under the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974, where fines are unlimited. Organisations can also be prosecuted for corporate manslaughter under the Corporate Manslaughter and Corporate Homicide Act 2007. Criminal proceedings often take a long time.
How do these affect the family's compensation claim?
The civil claim is separate, but the other processes can help it. Evidence gathered by the HSE and disclosed at the inquest can establish what went wrong, and under section 11 of the Civil Evidence Act 1968 a criminal conviction can be relied on as evidence in the civil claim. Coroner's conclusions are not binding in civil proceedings but are often persuasive.
Does the family have to wait for the inquest?
No. The three-year time limit for a fatal accident claim runs from the date of death, and inquests and prosecutions can take longer than that. A solicitor can protect the claim by issuing proceedings in time and, in many cases, secure interim payments to help the family financially.
For what the family can claim, see fatal accident at work claims.
Sources
Browse every plain-English guide in the work accident guides hub, or read the main guide to how a claim works.
This guide is for general information only and does not constitute legal advice. Every claim turns on its own facts. For advice about your specific situation, speak to a regulated solicitor.