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Self-inflicted deaths and the motive of the deceased

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Self-inflicted deaths and the motive of the deceased

The Court of Appeal has recently published its judgment for the case of Dove (Dove -v- HM Coroner for Teeside [2023] EWCA Civ 289).

Key takeaways

  • Actions of state agencies which may have contributed to the deceased’s mood and distress resulting in death by suicide may be relevant for an inquest
  • Failings of this nature do not necessarily engage Article 2, even if causative
  • Any exploration as to the impact any failings by state agencies may have had on the deceased has to be based on objective evidence, not just subjective questions from an Interested Person (eg the family)
  • The scope for an inquest remains the decision of the coroner

Facts and background

Jodey Whiting died by suicide on 21 February 2017 as a result of an overdose. In the period leading up to her death the DWP had withdrawn her benefits.

The view of the family was that this was a significant factor in her death, albeit without any objective evidence of the impact on Jodey’s state of mind. 

At the inquest, the coroner declined to explore the role of the benefit cut in Jodey’s death on the basis that the question the court has to answer is ‘how did the deceased come by their death?’, not ‘why did they come by their death?’

The family then obtained two key pieces of new evidence:

  1. A report by an independent case examiner confirming that there were failings by the DWP in how they dealt with Jodey’s benefits – including how they approached her mental health issues.  
  2. A report from an expert psychiatrist confirming that Jodey’s pre-existing vulnerabilities would have been ‘substantially affected’ by the decisions of the DWP and that there was probably a causal link between the DWP’s failings and Jodey’s state of mind immediately before her death.

In view of this new evidence, the family brought judicial review proceedings to reopen the inquest on the basis that the concerns raised about the DWP failings should be explored during the inquest. The High Court concluded that Article 2 was not engaged, and the coroner was correct to not explore the DWP issue. The family therefore appealed to the Court of Appeal.

The Court of Appeal concluded that there should be a fresh inquest into Jodey’s death for a number of reasons. These included the need for an inquest to establish the ‘substantive truth’ and that there is a public interest in coroners considering the wider issue of causation (ie the DWP stopping Jodey’s benefits) because a large number of people with whom the DWP deal are vulnerable.

The court confirmed that Article 2 was not engaged. Whilst Jodey was vulnerable, she was not known to be exceptionally vulnerable at the time, no one appreciated that she might have been at real and immediate risk to her life, she was not under the responsibility of the state. The operational duty therefore did not apply.

Impact

In cases of a self-inflicted death, where the deceased was involved with state agencies, Interested Persons may ask the coroners to investigate whether there were any issues between the state agency and their involvement with the deceased, and if there were, whether this was potentially causative.  

Thorough and robust investigations by the agencies themselves, at an early stage, may allow for any issues to be addressed at the outset.

It seems unlikely that ‘personal’ stressors (eg adultery by a partner or similar) would fall into this ambit as the court expressly based part of its decision on the public interest in relation to public bodies.

It seems likely there will be upcoming legal discussions in coroners’ courts about whether any suggestion to explore motive on the part of the deceased risks straying from ‘how?’ to ‘why?’

For further information please get in touch. 

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