Rory Badenoch

Inquests

Rory has considerable experience in representing families and other interested parties at inquests. He has particular expertise in representing families at inquests in which clinical negligence is suspected.

He is ranked as a Leading Junior in the Legal 500 for both Inquests and Clinical Negligence :

• “Immense attention to detail and extremely thorough” (2025)
• “Rory doesn’t miss a single detail, every stone will be uncovered and he will do all that he can to get the best result for the client.” (2025)
• “A junior with excellent client care skills” (2024)
• “A junior with a reassuring demeanour who is superb when questioning witnesses.”  (2024).
• “Rory has come into his won in the last few years; he can deal with the most complex of cases with a calm and reassuring manner. His judgment is exceptional when considering difficult points of law and the advice he gives to clients” (2023)

He is also ranked in Chambers and Partners 2025:

• “Rory Badenoch is a stand-out junior in clinical negligence cases and a go-to for representation at inquests. He is passionate about representing clients and helping them to access justice.”
• “Rory is incredibly good at analysing the detail of the case. He’s got a very superior analytical brain and he can really get through complex issues.”
• “Rory is very hands-on and takes ownership. He is very efficient and gets the cases moving very quickly. He can be a real fighter, and he doesn’t back down easily.”
• “Rory is very much a star of the future. He has a very good way with clients and clearly reads the papers in detail beforehand.”

Inquests Rory has been involved in have included investigations into very complex areas of medicine and science including:

• obstetrics
• neonatalology
• psychiatry
• paramedic and ambulance care
• neurology and neuroradiology
• general surgery
• urology
• emergency medicine
• interventional cardiology

He also has significant experience in:

• Article 2 inquests, involving the suicide of psychiatric patients and detainees;
• Road traffic inquests (on behalf of both insurers and families);
• Inquests involving deaths in the workplace.

Such undeniably upsetting cases – often very close to the time of the death of a loved one and in difficult circumstances – involve particularly careful and considerate client handling skills, of a kind for which Rory is recognised.

Publications

Rory has contributed to the soon to be released updated addition of “The Inquest Book: The Law of Coroners and Inquests”

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

Selected Cases

• Inquest into the death of a newborn baby, Abigail Miller. Abigail’s mother was triaged via telephone by the Maternity Assessment Unit (“MAU”) at the hospital but was not invited to attend on two occasions, nor was an ambulance sent when it ought to have been on a third occasion. Abigail’s mother arrived in a taxi at hospital having suffered a cardiac arrest and an emergency c-section was performed in the hospital foyer. Unfortunately, Abigail died two days later as a consequence of severe hypoxic ischaemic encephalopathy. Her mother survived following resuscitation and emergency surgery.

The Coroner concluded that had Abigail’s mother been invited to attend the MAU earlier, as she ought to have been, she would have been in hospital at the time of her clinical deterioration due to a uterine rupture at 1845 later that day. The care that would then have been given (namely supportive measures including IV fluid resuscitation and oxygen, and an emergency caesarean section prior to cardiac arrest occurring) would have “significantly prolonged” Abigail’s life (i.e. she would have survived).

Abigail’s parents recently gave an interview to BBC Newsnight calling for a national public inquiry into the standards of care across the UK. The interview can be accessed here.

Press coverage: BBC News; The Times; The Daily Mail; The Sun; The Argus

• Inquest into suicide of teenage girl examining a link to prescribed acne medication. Represented her family. (Press links: BBC, ITV, Standard)
• Inquest into death of a newborn from severe anaemia. Acted for the family.
• Inquest into the death of a teenage girl who died as a result of diabetic ketoacidosis. Represented the family. (Press link: ITV)
• Inquest into the death of a baby boy who died as a result of avoidable perinatal asphyxia. Represented the family. (Press links: BBC, Daily Mail, Echo News, Halstead Gazette)
• M4 crash inquest represented the driver of the lorry. (Press links: BBC, ITV, Express, Get Reading)