This petition is now closed, as its deadline has passed.
We the undersigned petition the Prime Minister to ensure the passing of the Coroners and Death Certification Bill in the next parliamentary session so that coroner’s inquiries following a death from mesothelioma are carried out in a way sensitive to the needs of the bereaved. More details
Submitted by David Buckle of The British Lung Foundation – Deadline to sign up by: 01 January 2009 – Signatures: 690
When someone dies from mesothelioma, an asbestos related cancer, it is classified as ‘an unnatural death’ and a coroner must carry out an inquiry.
As was highlighted in the British Lung Foundation report ‘An Unnatural Death’, when a death from mesothelioma occurs outside of a coroner’s working hours the bereaved can be visited by uniformed police in a marked police car, sometimes in the middle of the night. Many relatives say that this leads them to feel under suspicion during a distressing time.
We welcome the inclusion of the Coroners and Death Certification Bill in the Draft Legislative Programme for 2008-09 and the publication of the updated Charter for the Bereaved, which states that a Chief Coroner should be appointed and set minimum service standards for mesothelioma inquiries.
We urge the Prime Minister to ensure that the Bill is passed in the next parliamentary session and that coroner’s inquiries are consistently sensitive to the needs of families bereaved by mesothelioma.
Because there are so many signatories, only the most recent 500 are shown on this page.
Because there are so many signatories, only the most recent 500 are shown on this page.