The Law Show

How can avoidable deaths be prevented?


Listen Later

The phrase “State related deaths” might mean little to the average person, but it's an umbrella term referring to a death in custody or a mental health setting. It also applies to situations when people have taken their own lives while in the armed forces or even to disasters like Grenfell or Hillsborough.

What all these have in common is that they are followed by inquests or public inquiries, where investigators or coroners try to work out what caused the deaths.

Public inquiries are set up to draw conclusions and release their findings, and coroners are required to write a "Prevention of Future Deaths" report when there are lessons to be learned.

Hundreds of these PFD reports are released in England and Wales each year - yet there is no system in place to ensure preventative changes are made.

In Scotland, the equivalent is a Fatal Accident Inquiry. It's held by a procurator fiscal - and not a coroner - in front of a sheriff, and has a wider remit than an inquest. It too, can flag up systemic failures that led to a death, and precautions that should be made in future.

So should the UK have a body that ensures these warnings are heeded?

Also on the programme:

The government has welcomed Law Commission reforms to Wills - which includes new protections against so-called "predatory marriages".
And the Supreme Court case which could change the rules for all divorces in England and Wales.

Presenter: Joelle Grogan

Producers: Ravi Naik and Charlotte Rowles
Editor: Tara McDermott

Contributors:

Deborah Coles, Director of the charity Inquest
Kate Stone, barrister at Garden Court North chambers
Alexander Learmonth KC, barrister at New Square chambers
Tracey Moloney, Moloney Family solicitors

...more
View all episodesView all episodes
Download on the App Store

The Law ShowBy BBC Radio 4

  • 4
  • 4
  • 4
  • 4
  • 4

4

20 ratings


More shows like The Law Show

View all
In Our Time by BBC Radio 4

In Our Time

5,454 Listeners

The Documentary Podcast by BBC World Service

The Documentary Podcast

1,797 Listeners

Global News Podcast by BBC World Service

Global News Podcast

7,652 Listeners

Politics Weekly UK by The Guardian

Politics Weekly UK

247 Listeners

Profile by BBC Radio 4

Profile

98 Listeners

6 Minute English by BBC Radio

6 Minute English

1,753 Listeners

Learning English Conversations by BBC Radio

Learning English Conversations

1,090 Listeners

The Week in Westminster by BBC Radio 4

The Week in Westminster

24 Listeners

More or Less: Behind the Stats by BBC Radio 4

More or Less: Behind the Stats

893 Listeners

The Infinite Monkey Cage by BBC Radio 4

The Infinite Monkey Cage

2,081 Listeners

Newshour by BBC World Service

Newshour

1,046 Listeners

Westminster Hour by BBC Radio 4

Westminster Hour

46 Listeners

Moral Maze by BBC Radio 4

Moral Maze

63 Listeners

Page 94: The Private Eye Podcast by Page 94: The Private Eye Podcast

Page 94: The Private Eye Podcast

316 Listeners

The Briefing Room by BBC Radio 4

The Briefing Room

85 Listeners

Newscast by BBC News

Newscast

634 Listeners

Law Pod UK by Law Pod UK

Law Pod UK

12 Listeners

13 Minutes Presents: The Space Shuttle by BBC World Service

13 Minutes Presents: The Space Shuttle

4,198 Listeners

Americast by BBC News

Americast

716 Listeners

You're Dead to Me by BBC Radio 4

You're Dead to Me

3,016 Listeners

Inside Briefing with the Institute for Government by Institute for Government

Inside Briefing with the Institute for Government

23 Listeners

The Rest Is Politics by Goalhanger

The Rest Is Politics

3,099 Listeners

Double Jeopardy - UK Law and Politics by Ken Macdonald KC and Tim Owen KC

Double Jeopardy - UK Law and Politics

6 Listeners

The News Agents by Global

The News Agents

931 Listeners

Law and Disorder by Podot

Law and Disorder

5 Listeners