Introduction
to Inquests

As a clinician, you could be asked to give written or oral evidence for an inquest at any time – and this can be a daunting experience for any medical professional.

Our one-day Introduction to Inquests will equip you with all the knowledge and skills you’ll need to give evidence to the highest professional standards.

You’ll gain practical experience of writing a witness statement, with a real case sample to review. You will also participate in an interactive session on giving evidence – with tips and pitfalls to avoid!

This Introduction to Inquests training is accredited for CPD by the Royal College of Surgeons of England.

Learning outcomes

Led by a highly experienced inquest solicitor, this course will introduce you to:

• the legal framework and how to comply with court requirements
• the practicalities of an inquest
• what’s expected of you as the clinician
• how to structure your factual witness evidence (written and oral)
• tips for giving evidence and preparing for questions
• what could happen after the Coroner’s verdict.

Taught by leading medico-legal experts 

This one-day course is taught by Isabel Bathurst, who represents families at inquests following catastrophic accidents, clinical negligence, and deaths in custody. Isabel is joined on the course by Dr Chris Danbury, Consultant in Intensive Care Medicine and Anaesthetics and an experienced factual witness.

Some of our delegates find it useful to attend a medical inquest shortly after the training. If you’d be interested in attending an inquest, we can arrange this on your behalf. Please contact us for details.

*Please do not bring any paperwork from ongoing cases to the training session.

Please note: this is a general introduction to inquests for clinicians who are new to this work. It is not aimed at clinicians who provide expert evidence to the Coroner. Our Witness Familiarisation course would be more suitable for those giving expert evidence.