Coroners (Amendment) Act 2019
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Post-mortem examinations and related matters | ||
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21. The Principal Act is amended by the substitution of the following sections for section 33: | ||
“Post-mortem examinations | ||
33. (1) Subject to section 33A(3), a coroner may, for the purposes of inquiring into the death of a person, direct a registered medical practitioner to make a post-mortem examination of the body of the deceased person. | ||
(2) Where a registered medical practitioner makes a post-mortem examination of the body of a deceased person under this section, section 33A or 33C, he or she shall do so under the direction of the coroner. | ||
(3) Where a coroner has directed a registered medical practitioner under this section, section 33A or 33C to make a post-mortem examination of the body of a deceased person, he or she shall ensure, in so far as practicable, that a family member of the deceased person is informed of the fact and is informed that material may be removed from the body and retained for the purposes of a post-mortem examination or an inquest in relation to the death of the person. | ||
(4) Where, in the opinion of the coroner, the report of a post-mortem examination furnished to him or her under section 33E shows that an inquest in relation to the death is not necessary, it shall not be obligatory upon him or her to hold an inquest. | ||
(5) Nothing in this section shall authorise a coroner to dispense with holding an inquest in relation to the death of a person in circumstances to which section 17 applies. | ||
Duty to direct post-mortem examination | ||
33A. (1) It shall be the duty of a coroner to direct that a post-mortem examination of the body of a deceased person, whose death has been reported to him or her under this Act, be made in the following cases: | ||
(a) the death of the person may, in the opinion of the coroner, have occurred in a violent or unnatural manner, or in suspicious circumstances; | ||
(b) the death of the person may, in the opinion of the coroner, have occurred unexpectedly and from unknown causes or in an unexplained manner; | ||
(c) the deceased person was, at the time of his or her death or immediately before his or her death, in State custody or detention; | ||
(d) the death of the person was a maternal death or a late maternal death; | ||
(e) the death of the person may, in the opinion of the coroner, have occurred in circumstances which, under provisions in that behalf in any other enactment, require that an inquest should be held; | ||
(f) the death of the person occurred as a result of an accident at work or was due to an industrial or occupational injury or disease or industrial poisoning. | ||
(2) It shall be the duty of a coroner to exercise his or her power to direct a post-mortem examination where— | ||
(a) a member of the Garda Síochána not below the rank of inspector in any case other than a case to which paragraph (d) applies, | ||
(b) a member of the Defence Forces not below the rank of commandant in a case of the death of a person who is subject to military law under the Defence Acts 1954 to 2015, | ||
(c) a duly authorised officer of a statutory body who is empowered under another enactment to investigate accidents, incidents or diseases resulting in death in a case in which the body is investigating the accident, incident or disease resulting in the death concerned, or | ||
(d) a designated officer of the Ombudsman Commission in a case in which there is a relevant Ombudsman Commission investigation, | ||
requests him or her so to do, and states the reasons for such request in writing. | ||
(3) Upon receipt of a request under paragraph (a) or (d) of subsection (2) to direct a post-mortem examination in the case of a death in suspicious circumstances, a coroner shall direct a registered medical practitioner appointed by or on behalf of the Minister to make a post-mortem examination of the body of the deceased person. | ||
Provisions relating to post-mortem examinations directed by coroner | ||
33B. (1) A post-mortem examination of the body of a deceased person directed by a coroner under section 33, 33A or 33C shall be made by a registered medical practitioner and he or she may do so— | ||
(a) with the assistance of such other registered medical practitioners, or | ||
(b) such technical or clinical assistance as may be required for the examination, | ||
or both, as the first-mentioned registered medical practitioner considers appropriate for the examination. | ||
(2) A post-mortem examination of the body of a deceased person under section 33, 33A or 33C shall not be made by a registered medical practitioner who had attended the deceased person within the period of 28 days before his or her death, nor shall a registered medical practitioner assist in making such an examination if he or she attended the deceased person within that period. | ||
(3) Subsection (2) shall not apply to a registered medical practitioner who is a pathologist on the staff of, or associated with, a hospital save where the coroner considers that the conduct of such practitioner in relation to his or her attendance on the deceased person is likely to be called in question at an inquest in relation to the death of that person. | ||
Further post-mortem examination | ||
33C. Where a post-mortem examination has been directed by a coroner under section 33 or 33A, the coroner may direct the same registered medical practitioner, or another registered medical practitioner, to make a further post-mortem examination of the body of the deceased person concerned if the coroner is of opinion that— | ||
(a) a further post-mortem examination is necessary as further information relating to the death, or the circumstances of the death, becomes known after the first post-mortem examination was made, or | ||
(b) the first post-mortem examination was not made properly. | ||
Medical records of deceased person for purposes of post-mortem examination | ||
33D. (1) Where, under section 33, 33A or 33C, a coroner directs that a post-mortem examination of the body of a deceased person be made, the coroner may direct— | ||
(a) a person in charge of a hospital, or other health institution, in which the deceased person received treatment immediately before his or her death, | ||
(b) a medical practitioner, nurse or midwife who has possession or control of medical records relating to the deceased, or | ||
(c) a paramedic or advanced paramedic registered with the Pre-Hospital Emergency Care Council under the Pre-Hospital Emergency Care Council (Establishment) Order 2000 ( S.I. No. 109 of 2000 ) who has possession or control of medical records relating to the deceased, | ||
to give to the registered medical practitioner making the examination, within such period as may be specified in the direction, such medical records relating to the deceased person as are, in the opinion of the coroner, necessary to enable a proper examination of the body to be made. | ||
(2) Subject to subsection (3), a person to whom a direction is given by a coroner under subsection (1) shall comply with the direction forthwith. | ||
(3) A person to whom a direction is given by a coroner under subsection (1) may refuse to comply with the direction in relation to a medical record only if he or she would be entitled, by virtue of section 38(3), as a witness at an inquest to refuse to comply with a direction of the coroner to produce the record at the inquest. | ||
(4) A direction given by a coroner under subsection (1) shall be given in writing or, if given orally, it shall be confirmed in writing as soon as practicable. | ||
(5) The validity of a direction given by a coroner under subsection (1) shall not be limited to the coroner’s district in respect of which he or she holds the office of coroner. | ||
(6) Where a person to whom a direction is given by a coroner under subsection (1) fails or refuses to comply with the direction, other than in circumstances to which subsection (3) applies, the High Court may, on application to it in that behalf by the coroner— | ||
(a) order the person to comply with the direction immediately or within such period as the Court may determine and specify in the order, and | ||
(b) make such other order, if any, as it considers necessary to enable the order made under paragraph (a) to have effect and such order as to costs, if any, as it considers just. | ||
(7) An application under subsection (6) may, if the High Court so directs, be heard otherwise than in public. | ||
(8) In determining an application under subsection (6), the High Court shall have regard to— | ||
(a) the public interest in the medical record concerned being given for the purposes of the post-mortem examination of the body of the deceased person concerned, | ||
(b) the likely importance of the information contained in the medical record concerned for the purposes of that examination, and | ||
(c) the likely impact on the effectiveness of that examination if the medical record concerned is not given, or there is a delay in its being given, for the purposes of that examination. | ||
(9) A registered medical practitioner to whom medical records are given pursuant to a direction of a coroner under subsection (1), or an order of the High Court under subsection (6), shall return those records to the hospital or other health institution or the medical practitioner, nurse, midwife, paramedic or advanced paramedic, as the case may be, from whom they were received, as soon as practicable after the post-mortem examination of the body of the deceased person concerned has been made or, as may be appropriate, an inquest in relation to the death of that person has been held. | ||
(10) Rules of court may make provision for the expeditious hearing of applications to the High Court under subsection (6). | ||
Report of post-mortem examination | ||
33E. (1) Where a post-mortem examination of the body of a deceased person is directed by a coroner under section 33, 33A or 33C, the registered medical practitioner to whom the direction was given shall, as soon as practicable, furnish a report in writing of the examination to the coroner. | ||
(2) A report of a post-mortem examination under subsection (1) shall contain a record of any material, whether tissue, organs, biological fluids or other part of the body of the deceased person concerned, retained for further examination or for the purposes of an inquest in relation to the death of the person. | ||
(3) In a case where a request for a post-mortem examination is received by a coroner under section 33A(2), the coroner to whom a report of the post-mortem examination is furnished under subsection (1) shall, in accordance with the request, provide a copy of the report to, as may be appropriate— | ||
(a) a member of the Garda Síochána not below the rank of inspector, | ||
(b) a member of the Defence Forces not below the rank of commandant, | ||
(c) a duly authorised officer of a statutory body who is empowered under another enactment to investigate accidents, incidents or diseases resulting in death, or | ||
(d) a designated officer of the Ombudsman Commission, | ||
and the copy of the report shall be so provided not later than the commencement of an inquest in relation to the death of the person concerned or, if an inquest is not held, as soon as practicable after the coroner receives the report. | ||
(4) Subject to subsection (5), a coroner to whom a report of a post-mortem examination is furnished under subsection (1) shall, if so requested by a family member of the deceased person concerned, provide a copy of the report to that family member. | ||
(5) The coroner shall not provide a copy of the report of a post-mortem examination furnished to him or her under subsection (1) to a family member of the deceased person if the coroner thinks that it is not proper to do so as it may prejudice criminal proceedings in relation to the death of the deceased person that are being considered or have been instituted. | ||
(6) Nothing in this section shall prevent a registered medical practitioner directed by a coroner under section 33, 33A or 33C to make the post-mortem examination of the body of a deceased person from furnishing a preliminary report of the examination to the coroner before the report referred to in subsection (1) is furnished to him or her.”. |