3PB has a dedicated team specialising in representing bereaved families, individuals, statutory bodies and corporate entities at coroners inquests. The team draws on experience gathered from many different areas, such as personal injury, health and safety, clinical negligence, public law, prisons, police and military cases and road traffic accidents.
Our barristers advise at all stages of the inquest process, including issues of disclosure, pre-inquest reviews and advocacy at the inquest, in inquests with and without a jury. We are also regularly instructed to review, following inquests, and advise bereaved families and dependents on subsequent stages of civil litigation or criminal proceedings that can often follow – therefore representing interested persons and coroners in the most complex of cases as well as others. Our specialist counsel are all levels of seniority so we have the breadth of experience to suit every client’s needs and budget.
3PB are a leading personal injury chambers and advise on industrial disease cases and fatal workplace accidents. Many industrial disease claims start out as Inquests and we are able to provide expert advocacy from an early stage, to ensure that necessary facts are brought to light which will form the foundation of future fatal accident claims.
We provide representation to families of the deceased and also have over 50 years experience acting for GPs and other clinical practitioners, NHS bodies, private health care and care home providers, insurance companies and self-insured businesses, government departments (including the Home Office and the Ministry of Defence), the police and prison service and individual officers, private prison contractors, local authorities and Coroners. Areas of expertise encompass:
- Medical deaths, including alleged surgical, nursing, obstetric and anaesthetic failures
- Homicides
- Terrorist-related deaths
- Deaths in custody
- Military deaths
- Construction site accidents
- Fire and electrical safety
- Carbon monoxide poisoning,
- Deaths in schools and nurseries
- Road traffic accidents and police pursuits.
Notable cases include:
- 10-day Judge led inquest into the drowning of two fisherman following the sinking of the French fishing vessel, the Bugaled Breizh in January 2004 acting for HM Coastguard
- 15 day inquest at the Royal Courts of Justice into the death of a marine Benjamin McQueen during a military diving exercise in Portland Harbour, acting for the HSE
- 23 day jury inquests into the Plymouth Shootings, acting for the Firearms Licensing Supervisor
- 60 day Art 2 inquest into death of 19-year old Gaia Pope, who had engaged with Dorset mental health services and police, acting for HM Coastguard
- 15 day art 2 inquest into death of 21-year old disabled woman Laura Booth at Royal Hallamshire Hospital, acting for Laura's parents
- 8 day jury inquest into death of undercover policeman in Southampton. Public interest immunity about the police operation at the time of the fatal accident
- Representing the NHS and London Ambulance Service (LAS) in a number of cases about quality of emergency care, treatment in hospitals, and delays by paramedics
- Inquest on the death of a marathon runner who died of an ischaemic bowel through dehydration following taking superosmolar sports supplements and ibuprofen
- 5 day Art 2 inquest involving a prisoner suicide with alleged early closure of ACCT, safeguarding and mental health issues
- 7 day jury inquest into death of prisoner at HMP Pentonville who ingested drugs and included investigation into prisoner restraint
- Representing parents and families at Inquests following high profile deaths of children in hospitals and psychiatric wards including 3-year old Arietta-Grace Barnett
- Multiple mesothelioma/asbestosis-related inquests.
Inquests conducted in other contexts are often more appropriately dealt with by practitioners from the Public and Regulatory team. Details of these specialists can be found here.
Our Inquests Barristers...
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3PB congratulates its Public and Regulatory Law team for earning 3 new rankings in this year’s Chambers and Partners edition. To its existing 2 accolades for Administrative and Public Law, the team has added 2 rankings for Professional Discipline and one ranking for Inquests and Public Inquiries. Head of Group Mathew Gullick KC commented: “This significant gain in Chambers and Partners’ latest publication reflects both new and existing members of our national set of chambers,...
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3PB Barristers (3 Paper Buildings) breaks another record in the latest edition of Chambers and Partners with a total of 96 rankings (81 last year) achieved by 80 of its barristers. The national set is rewarded with accolades in 21 areas of law, in the London Bar as well as in the North Eastern, South Eastern, Western and Midlands Circuits and exceptional comments for its expertise and service delivery. Click here to view the full...
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3PB Barristers’ (3 Paper Buildings) Sunyana Sharma, represents His Majesty’s Coastguard (‘HMCG’) in a 2-week inquest following the tragic deaths of Joseph Abbess and Sunnah Khan who drowned whilst swimming between the red and yellow flags at Bournemouth beach on 31 May 2023 following a flash rip current. The coroner considered the risk assessments carried out by the Bournemouth Christchurch and Poole Borough Council (‘BCP’) and the RNLI prior to the accident, the cause and...
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3 Paper Buildings (3PB) is delighted to announce that leading barrister and silk Rachel Best KC (2006 call) has joined chambers as an associate member. Rachel specialises in employment and discrimination disputes, judicial reviews, inquests and personal injury cases. She was called to the Bar of Northern Ireland in 2006, the Bar of Ireland in 2021 and was called to the Bar of England & Wales in 2022. She was promoted to Silk in 2024....
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3PB Barristers (3 Paper Buildings), one of the UK's largest chambers, is celebrating this year again its rankings - totalling 167 - in the Legal 500 2025’s edition published today, a 15% increase on last year’s 145. The set is ranked in 23 areas of law, across 4 UK Circuits: London, South Eastern, Western and the Midlands. 3PB’s barristers are also ranked in the Middle East and Asia Pacific regions. The Legal 500 acknowledges 3PB...
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3PB Barristers' (3 Paper Buildings) Sunyana Sharma represents His Majesty’s Coastguard (‘HMCG’) at the inquest touching the sad death of 14 year old Albina Yevko, who fell from the sea wall between Dawlish and Dawlish Warren after going for a walk along the sea wall. The Coroner considered the risk assessments and mitigations put in place by Network Rail, the care and treatment rendered by the emergency services including HMCG and the inter-agency communication. The...
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3PB Barristers’ (3 Paper Buildings) specialist regulatory and inquest barrister Sunyana Sharma (pictured here) has represented the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) in a joint inquest touching the deaths of 3 men who drowned off the coast of Cornwall following the relaxation of COVID lockdown in May, June and August 2020. The issues considered by His Majesty’s Senior Coroner included the legal responsibility of maintaining beach safety, whether there was a legal duty for the...
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3PB Barristers’ (3 Paper Buildings) specialist inquest barrister Sunyana Sharma (pictured here) has represented Devon and Cornwall Police at the recent jury inquest into the death of a young man whilst detained by police. The inquest in question concerned the death of Jota Smith, who had exhibited extreme signs of acute behavioural disturbance (“ABD”), caused by the effects of a four-day cocaine binge. The suspect was restrained for his own safety and to protect those...
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3PB Barristers (3 Paper Buildings) breaks another record in the latest edition of Chambers and Partners with a total of 81 accolades. The national set is rewarded with rankings in 18 areas of law, in the London Bar as well as in the South Eastern, Western and Midlands Circuits and exceptional comments on its service delivery, including praise for its “sublime service” and its "ability to manage matters in a professional and comprehensive manner second...
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3PB Barristers (3 Paper Buildings), the UK's third largest chambers, is delighted to report this year again an outstanding number of rankings - totalling 145 - in the Legal 500 2024’s edition published today, a 12% increase on last year’s 130. The set has achieved its rankings across 5 large UK regions - or Circuits (London, South Eastern, Western, Midlands and Chester and Wales) - in 21 areas of law. 3PB is also ranked in...
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