Longfield Care Homes Ltd, R (on the application of) v HM Coroner for Blackburn & Ors [2004] EWHC 2467 (Admin) (14 October 2004)

Longfield Care Homes Ltd, R (on the application of) v HM Coroner for Blackburn & Ors [2004] EWHC 2467 (Admin) (14 October 2004)

The coroner misdirected the jury on the law of neglect by focusing on lack of risk assessment, which is a matter of civil negligence, not the gross failure required for neglect in inquest law. The verdict of accidental death to which neglect contributed cannot stand. A narrative verdict is required to accurately...

Source-derived case information.

Citation
[2004] EWHC 2467 (Admin)
Parties
Claimant: Longfield Care Homes Limited; Defendant: HM Coroner for Blackburn; Interested Party: National Care Standards Commission; Interested Party: Jennifer Newbury
Jurisdiction
England and Wales
Judgment Date
14 October 2004
Procedural Posture
Judicial Review / Final Judgment
Outcome
Inquisition quashed and substituted with narrative verdict; no order as to costs.
Legal Topics
Inquest Verdicts, Neglect in Inquests, Judicial Review of Coroners, Causation in Death, Narrative Verdicts, Costs Orders
Public Law Coroners Law Administrative Law Inquest Verdicts Neglect in Inquests Judicial Review of Coroners Causation in Death Narrative Verdicts +1 more

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Parties

Longfield Care Homes Limited

Claimant

HM Coroner for Blackburn

Defendant

National Care Standards Commission

Interested Party

Jennifer Newbury

Interested Party

Procedural Posture

Judicial Review / Final Judgment

Legal Issues

  1. 1 Whether the coroner erred in leaving verdicts of accidental death and accidental death to which neglect contributed to the jury
  2. 2 Whether there was sufficient evidence for such verdicts
  3. 3 Whether the coroner misdirected the jury as to the law on neglect

Ratio Decidendi

The coroner misdirected the jury on the law of neglect by focusing on lack of risk assessment, which is a matter of civil negligence, not the gross failure required for neglect in inquest law. The verdict of accidental death to which neglect contributed cannot stand. A narrative verdict is required to accurately reflect the jury's findings that death was from natural causes, probably accelerated by injuries from the fall.

Court Disposition

Inquisition quashed and substituted with narrative verdict; no order as to costs.

Orders

  • The inquisition is quashed and replaced with a narrative verdict: 'Mrs Hall died of bronchopneumonia resulting from dementia. Her death was probably accelerated by a short time by the effect on her pneumonia of injuries sustained when she fell through an unattended open window, which lacked an opening restrictor, in...
  • No order as to costs between the parties.