Coroner's Service

What is a coroner?

The coroner's job is to find out the facts about a person's death, both for official records and for the benefit of the bereaved family and friends. The senior coroner for Teesside is Clare Bailey. The coroner's service for Teesside covers the Middlesbrough, Redcar and Cleveland, and Stockton council areas.

What does the coroner do?

If a death is reported to the coroner, they must find out:

• who the deceased was (their identity)
• when the death occurred
• where the death occurred
• how the death occurred

When is a death reported to the coroner?

Not all deaths are reported to the coroner. The type of deaths which are referred to the coroner include those where:

• the cause of death is unknown
• the death was violent and unnatural
• the death was sudden and unexplained
• the person died in prison, police custody, or another type of state detention
• the death occurred during an operation or before the person came out of anaesthetic

What happens when a death is reported to the coroner?

The coroner may decide that the cause of death is clear. In this case, the doctor will sign a medical certificate.

If the cause of death isn't clear, the coroner will order a post-mortem to be carried out. A post-mortem is a medical examination used to find out how a person died. Find out more about what a post-mortem is.

If the post-mortem doesn't give a clear cause of death, the coroner will schedule an inquest. An inquest must also be held if the person is believed to have died a violent or unnatural death, or they died in prison or police custody. An inquest investigates a death in more detail.

At the end of the inquest, the coroner will record who died, and when and where the death occurred. They will also record a legal verdict on the cause of death.

More information

GOV.UK explains more about what happens when a death is reported to the coroner.

The guide to coroner services document explains the role of a coroner, and what to expect from the inquest process.

Contact

Clare Bailey
Senior Coroner
Phone: 01642 729350
Email: teessidecoroner@middlesbrough.gov.uk
Post:
Her Majesty's Coroner for Teesside
The Coroner's Service
Middlesbrough Town Hall
Albert Road
Middlesbrough
TS1 2QJ

Office hours:
Monday to Thursday: 8:30am to 4pm
Friday: 8:30am to 3:30pm