Exceptions to referral to the Coroner: death by accident in the frail elderly.
Section 46C of the Burial and Cremation Act 1964
Note that stringent conditions apply.
A doctor may complete a death certificate and not refer the matter to the Coroner where an accident has occurred and death was mainly caused by injuries;
+ and: the accident or injuries were mainly due to the patient’s age (70 years +)
+ and their infirmities;
+ and the accident was not suspicious or unusual or caused by another person;
+ and there are no other indications for a Coroner’s inquest.
Burial & Cremation Act 1964 (as at Jan 24 2009) 46C
Doctor's certificate in relation to accidents to elderly persons
(1) A doctor may give a doctor's certificate for the death of a person … if the person was 70 years of age or older and, in the opinion of the doctor,
(a) the death was caused by injuries, or injuries contributed substantially to it;
and
(b) the injuries were caused by an accident;
and
(c) the injuries, the accident, or both arose principally by virtue of infirmities that were attributes of the person's age;
and
(d) the accident was not suspicious or unusual;
and
(e) the accident was not caused by an act or omission of any other person;
and
(f) except to the extent that the death involved injury by accident, it was not violent, unnatural, or in some way a death in respect of which the Coroners Act 2006 requires an inquiry to be conducted.