O'Connell v an tArd Chl raitheoir

• Jurisdiction: Ireland
• Judge: Miss. Justice Laffoy
• Judgment Date: 21 March 1997
• Neutral Citation: [1997] IEHC 57
• Docket Number: [1994 No. 461 J.R.]
• Court: High Court
• Date: 21 March 1997

[1997] IEHC 57

THE HIGH COURT

No. 461/J.R.1994

O'CONNELL v. AN t-ÁRD CHLARAITHEOIR

BETWEEN

JOAN O'CONNELL

APPLICANT

AND

AN t-ÁRD CHLARAITHEOIR

RESPONDENT

1 Miss. Justice Laffoy delivered on the 21st day of March 1997

FACTUAL BACKGROUND

2 This application arises out of the tragic death of the Applicant's 17 year old daughter, Juliet O'Connell, at Barrington's Hospital, Limerick, on 11th October, 1984. On that evening, the Applicant and her daughter, who was suffering from an asthmatic attack, attended at the Casualty Department of Barrington's Hospital. Juliet O'Connell was treated by Dr. Lal Bahadur Mandal and died in the course of the treatment in the presence of the Applicant.

3 The Applicant requested Mr. James G. Lyons, the City Coroner for Limerick City, to hold an Inquest on her daughter's death. On 29th March, 1985, Mr. Lyons wrote to the Secretary of Barrington's Hospital confirming that he had advised the Application's Solicitors that, in his opinion, on the facts disclosed to him, it did not appear that he had jurisdiction to hold an Inquest in the case but that he was still prepared to hold an Inquest if it could be shown to him that he did have such jurisdiction. Mr. Lyons further commented that he saw no reason why the doctor dealing with the case could not issue his death certificate in the ordinary way, but that was a matter entirely for him. The City Corner did not cause a post-mortem examination to be held, but a post- mortem examination was carried out at the request of the Applicant and her husband by Mr. W.E.Bennett, Pathologist of Barrington's Hospital who, in his report dated 24th October,1984, recorded the cause of death as cardio- respiratory failure due to airway obstruction and commented that the finding were consistent with status asthmaticus. On the evidence, I find that the City Coroner concluded that Juliet O'Connell died from natural causes and that he did not regard himself as having inquired in to the circumstances of her death.

4 On 29th March, 1985, Ms. Its Murphy, a clerical employee of Barrington's Hospital, attended before Mrs. Josephine Geary, the Assistant Registrar appointed Under Section 26 of the Registration of Births and Deaths (Ireland) Act, 1863 (the 1863 Act) for the District of Limerick, Urban No. 1, in which district Barrington's Hospital was located, and gave the information for the registration of the death of Juliet O'Connell. Ms. Murphy produced a medical certificate of the cause of death in the form prescribed under the Births and Deaths Registration Act (Ireland), 1880 (the 1880 Act), which was dated 29th March, 1985 and bore the signature of Lal Bahadur Mandal and certified the cause of death as cardio- respiratory failure and airway obstruction.The following particulars were entered by Mrs. Geary in the register.

5 (a) In Column 2 (Date and Place of Death): October Eleventh 1984 Barrington's Hospital.

6 (b) In Column 3 (Name and Surname): Juliet O'Connell Santa Monica, N.C. Rd., Limerick

7 (c) In Column 4 (Sex) : Female

8 (d) In Column 5 (Condition): Single

9 (e) In Column 6 (Age last Birthday): 17 yrs

10 (f) In Column 7 (Rank, Profession or Occupation): Student

11 (g) In Column 8 (Certified Cause of Death and Duration of Illness):

12 Cardio-respiratory failure Airway obstruction Certified

13 The register was signed by Ms. Murphy as informant and her qualification and residence were entered as:"Occupier Barrington's Hospital". The date of registration was entered as March Twenty Ninth 1985 and the register was signed by Mrs. Geary.

14 On 11th October, 1984 and on 29th March, 1985, Dr.Lal Bahadur Mandal was registered in the register maintained by the Medical Council as a temporarily registered medical practitioner for the purpose of practice of medicine in Barrington's Hospital. On the evidence, I am satisfied that he was a registered medical practitioner within the meaning of the Medical Practitioners Act, 1987 on each date.

15 Neither the Applicant nor any other relative of Juliet O'Connell sought to register her death on or before 29th March, 1985. The Applicant has averred of these proceedings that she attended at the office of the Registrar for the District of Limerick, Urban No.1, on 29th March, 1985 for the purpose of objecting to the registration, but registration had already been effected.

16 The Applicant and her husband have been in correspondence with the office of the Respondent in relation to the registration of deaths generally and, in particular, the registration of the death their daughter since September 1986. In August 1987, the authority of a hospital employee to act as a qualified informant under Section 10 of the 1880 Act was first questioned by them in this correspondence and the question was pursued in subsequent correspondence. The stance adopted by the Respondent in reply was that the term "occupier" was being interpreted by the Respondent as including numbers of the staff of the term "occupier " had been interpreted in this manner for as long as could be recalled. In these proceedings, it has been averred by Seamus O'Cleirigh, An t- Ard Chlaraitheoir Cunta, that at present the vast majority of deaths which occur in hospitals are registered by members of the hospital staff designated as "occupier".

17 Barrington's Hospital has been closed for many years.

18 I have outlined above the only facts disclosed in these proceedings which, in my view, are germane to the issues raised by the Applicant's application. These are the only facts I have had regard to.

THE APPLICATION

19 By Order of this Court made on 16th January, 1995 by Geoghegan J., the Applicant was given leave to apply for an Order of Certiorari by way of application for Judical review quashing the registration of the death of Juliet O'Connell on the grounds set fort in her statement field on 14th December, 1994. The Applicant has appeared in person and has not had the benefit of legal representation in these proceedings. The grounds on which she has sought an Order of Certiorari are as follows:-

20 (1) That Ms.Murphy was not a lawful qualified informant in any capacity to register the death of her daughter and the fact that she described her qualification as "Occupier" when she clearly was not, where there was a matron in the hospital, the entry in the register is not evidences of her daughter's death. In support of this ground, the Applicant relies on Section 42 of the 1863 Act,Section 28 of the 1880 Act, Section 30 of the 1863 Act and Form (B) annexed to the 1863 Act.

21 (2) That the copy death certificate is invalid as the Applicant was the first lawful qualified informant, as Juliet's informant, as Juliet's mother, and was present and witnesses her death and as such took precedence over all others as laid down in Section 10 of the 1880 Act and Section 30 of the 1863 Act and Form (B) annexed to the 1863 Act.

22 (3) That the Respondent accepted the registration without the required Coroner's Certificate under Section 50(2) of the Coroners Act, 1962(the 1962 Act) and the Coroner's Act 1962(Particulars of Registration of Death), Regulations 1962 (S.I. No. 25 of 1962) (the 1962 Regulations).

THE RELEVANT STATUTORY PROVISIONS

23 Registration of deaths in this jurisdiction is still largely governed by the 1863 Act and the 1880 Act.

24 The original source of the duty of a Registrar to register deaths within his district was Section 30 of the 1863 Act, which authorised and required him to inform himself carefully of every death which should happen within his district and to learn and register as soon after the event as conveniently might be done the particulars required to be registered according to Form (B) annexed to the 1863 Act. The 1863 Act was amended by the 1880 Act. Section 9 of the 1880 Act provided that the death of every person dying in Ireland after the commencement of that Act, and the cause of such death, should be registered by the Registrar in the manner directed by the 1863 Act and by the 1880 Act. Section 10 of the 1880 Act provided as follows:-

"When a person dies in a house after the commencement of this Act it shall be the duty of the nearest relatives of the deceased present at the death, or in attendance during the last illness of the deceased, and in default of such relatives, of every other relative of the deceased dwelling or being in the same district as the deceased, and in default of such relatives, of each person present of the death, and of the occupier of the house in which, to his knowledge, the death took place, and in default of the persons hereinbefore in this section mentioned, of each inmate of such house and of the person causing the body of the deceased person to be buried, to give, to the best of his knowledge and belief, to the Registrar, within the five days next following the day of such death, information of the particulars required to be registered concerning such death, and in the presence of the registrar to sign the register."

25 In Section 38 of the 1880 Act, the term "house" is defined as including a "public institution" as therein defined, which expression is defined as meaning, inter alia, a hospital. The term "occupier" is defined in Section 38 as follows:-

"The term "occupier" includes the governor, keeper, master, matron, superintendent or other chief resident officer of every public institution, and where a house is let in separate apartments or lodgings includes any person residing in such house who is the person under whom such lodgings or separate apartments are immediately held, or his agent, and by such term shall all the persons above mentioned be described when acting as informants."

26 Section 13 of the 1880 Act Provides for a procedure whereby the Registrar may requisition information concerning a death from a qualified informant where, by reason of default of qualified...