Michael regularly attends coroner’s hearings on behalf of the families of the deceased, and also behalf of those who have been declared to be an ‘interested party’ by the coroner.

The coroner’s court is chiefly concerned with ‘unusual’ deaths and identifying the who, where, when and how of the circumstances of the those deaths. These hearings are specifically not about apportioning blame and, although it can be a stressful and occasionally heated process it is not meant to be an adversarial process such as one might experience in a county, crown or magistrates court.

When a simple short judgment is not sufficient a coroner uses a longer sentence describing the circumstances of the death, this is called a narrative verdict.

Possible outcomes that the coroner may consider:

• Natural causes;
• Accident;
• Suicide;
• Unlawful killing
• Lawful killing;
• Industrial disease and
• Open verdicts (where there is insufficient evidence for any other verdict).

Types of coroner’s hearing that Michael attends

Michael is a direct, public access barrister so you can hire him directly, to represent you or your family at the coroner’s court.

• Opening hearings
• Article 2 hearings
• Pre-inquest hearing reviews
• Full hearings either with or without a jury.

Testimonial

“I was impressed by Michael’s down to earth nature and the effortless way he was able to put my client at her ease in conference. At trial his cross examination of the Defendant’s main expert witness was exceptional and I believe won the day for our client.

The judge singled out their expert witness for specific criticism as a result of the flaws in his evidence that Michael’s skilled cross examination highlighted.

I would have no hesitation in recommending him and will be instructing him in the future”.

Sobia – Themis Solicitors