Changing Death Cert

Hotbutch

Hi Just looking for advice, My father died in Jan this year, he was sick for 5 years, however he got an operation last year in a hospital in Dublin i wont mention where, and contracted esbl, it is like MRSA but its worse, he was put on an antibiotic for this however we believed he was turning a corner as it appeared the antibiotic cleared this esbl which you can attract from dirty instruments in theaters. When he finished his course of antibiotics he became very sick ended up in hospital and was diagnosed with scepticimia, as he was antibiotic resistant as he was on so many over his 5 years of sickness he passed away 7 days later, we got notice from the hospital he died from scepticimia and ecoli & were not issued a death cert but an interim death cert which is holding up things with different things, it is now with the coroner and awaiting for a death cert, just wondering what does the coroner do at this time would he be investigating all blood results or just covering the backs of the hospital in case they think we are thinking of sueing. any advice be helpful.

banie01

Hotbutch wrote: »

Hi Just looking for advice, My father died in Jan this year, he was sick for 5 years, however he got an operation last year in a hospital in Dublin i wont mention where, and contracted esbl, it is like MRSA but its worse, he was put on an antibiotic for this however we believed he was turning a corner as it appeared the antibiotic cleared this esbl which you can attract from dirty instruments in theaters. When he finished his course of antibiotics he became very sick ended up in hospital and was diagnosed with scepticimia, as he was antibiotic resistant as he was on so many over his 5 years of sickness he passed away 7 days later, we got notice from the hospital he died from scepticimia and ecoli & were not issued a death cert but an interim death cert which is holding up things with different things, it is now with the coroner and awaiting for a death cert, just wondering what does the coroner do at this time would he be investigating all blood results or just covering the backs of the hospital in case they think we are thinking of sueing. any advice be helpful.

Make contact with the Coroner, make him aware of your concerns regarding the infection and ask his advice on how you should proceed.
Generally the Coroner's office will offer some guidance on how best to raise your concerns regarding the cause of death.
Just be aware that in general terms all the inquest will be concerned with is the actual cause of Death, with little concern for contributory factors.
Depending on how that conversation goes, you may choose to approach a solicitor for legal advice regarding the inquest.
General outline of the procedure can be found here

The family of the deceased are entitled to attend the inquest, but they are not bound by law or legally obliged to be there. If the family attend the inquest, they do not require legal representation on their behalf (i.e., a solicitor or legal advisor). Sometimes however, if legal action is being taken as a result of the death, the family may engage a solicitor to attend the inquest and take notes.

When the proceedings have been completed, a verdict is returned in relation to the identity of the deceased, and how, when and where the death occurred. The range of verdicts open to the Coroner or jury (in jury cases, it is the jury that returns the verdict) include accidental death, misadventure, suicide, open verdict, natural causes and unlawful killing.

A general recommendation designed to prevent similar deaths occurring may be made by the coroner or jury. When the inquest is completed, the Coroner issues a certificate so that the death can be properly registered.

I hope the inquest will go someways towards bringing you some closure.

Taltos

Op - giving you your own thread.

Nekarsulm

Hotbutch wrote: »

just wondering what does the coroner do at this time would he be investigating all blood results or just covering the backs of the hospital in case they think we are thinking of sueing. any advice be helpful.

Sat through a day of cases in a regional Coroners court, our case was last.
Almost every case we felt there were some glaringly obvious questions that could/should have been asked, but were not.
About one third of families/cases were not English speakers (as a first language) and seemed bewildered.
The Coroner led the Jury in a number of cases, where you would have thought an open verdict would have been a likely outcome.
I would advise you get yourself a Solicitor to attend with you, and make sure that they are up to speed with your concerns, and willing to assert themselves regarding your concerns and wishes. The Coroner will be unlikely to examine blood tests. Everyone dies when their heart stops, regardless of what caused this to happen, and very often a simplified version is what gets recorded.
Also, be aware and prepared for the brutal reality of the report regarding the Post Mortem.

Finally, I sympathise with you on your loss, and wish you well.