Rajkiran Barhey

Inquests

Kiran has significant inquest experience and accepts instructions on behalf of families, Trusts, GPs and government bodies. She has experience of inquests which engage Article 2 and/or jury inquests as well as inquests concerning prisons, mental health hospitals, and medical treatment.

Kiran is ranked in Chambers and Partners 2023 as Up and Coming in Inquests and Public Inquiries: ‘She is a junior to watch. Very clever and a good advocate, with mature judgement.’

Listen to Kiran discuss the developments in inquest law that practitioners will need to know about on episode 175 of our podcast, Law Pod UK.

Selected Cases

• Re: TS (2022): Represented a private healthcare company which provided healthcare services in a prison in a 2-week Article 2 jury inquest following the death of a prisoner from HIV/AIDs-related complications. No criticisms were made of the company.
• Re: CR (2022): Represented family in a 4-day inquest concerning the death of a young man with schizophrenia by suicide. The Coroner concluded that the clinician should have offered CR a trial of the anti-psychotic clozapine and that the failure to do so contributed to the death.
• Re: AS (2022): Represented family in a 2-day inquest concerning the sudden death of a man following surgery for bowel cancer. The clinicians presumed the death had a cardiac cause but the post-mortem concluded it was caused by peritonitis. Following submissions from the family, the Coroner instructed a colorectal expert who identified a number of clinical failings and the Coroner concluded that the death could have been avoided. The claim is ongoing.
• Re: W (2021): Represented family in a 7-day Article 2 jury inquest concerning significant clinical failings in treatment of a detained man with a spinal injury which concluded with a finding of neglect. Kiran also acted in the claim after the inquest and secured a settlement for the family.
• Re: GS (2021): Represented family in a 1-week Article 2 jury inquest concerning the death of an informal patient whilst on home leave from a mental health hospital. The jury made criticisms of Social Services in their conclusion. The Trust made admissions of failures in care prior to the inquest.
• Re: ER (2021): Represented family in an inquest into a neonatal death following induction. The Coroner concluded that the mother should have been offered a C-section earlier in the pregnancy and that she would have had a C-section and the death would have been avoided.