Family to challenge restrictions to inquest evidence

A family is to take a court action against the State questioning the legality of the restriction of medical evidence during an inquest, it has emerged.

Relations of 29-year-old Stephen Keeler are taking a case against the Attorney General claiming part of the Coroners Act 1962 is unconstitutional.

The Supreme Court has ruled that, under the provisions of the existing Coroners Act, a coroner may not take evidence from more than two medical witnesses.

The family’s solicitor Michael Finucane said this case was the only to establish what led to the 29-year-old’s death at the inquest.

He said: “The inquiry that the family are anxious to have conducted would mean calling more than two doctors.”

Mr Keeler, who was just 29 and from Dublin, died unexpectedly after a short illness on July 10, 2002. He had attended a general practitioner and visited a number of hospitals in the short time before his death.

“Expert advice from an accident and emergency consultant from the UK advised that a number of doctors would have to give evidence to explain the sequence of events,” Mr Finucane, who informed the Dublin City Coroner’s Court of the impending case, said.

The Dublin City Coroner, Dr Brian Farrell, has previously called for the legislation to be changed and highlighted during many inquests the limitation of section 26 (2) of the Coroners Act has for medical cases.

Dr Farrell has said that it means he has to choose just one medical practitioner in cases where many might also hold key evidence.

Currently the legislation restricts the number of doctors that can give evidence before the Coroner’s Court to one – unless the majority of jurors request a second expert to give information to explain the case.

The Justice Department said the drafting of a new Bill to reform the current Coroners Act of 1962 is underway.

The constitutional review, which is being taken by Mr Keeler’s brother, Anthony, against the State and the Attorney General, challenges that the current legislation guiding inquests violates Article 2 of the European Convention on Human Rights and is unconstitutional.

“We are challenging this on the basis that it is incompatible with the Right to Life as stated in the Constitution,” Mr Finucane said. “We argue that part of the Right to Life guarantee encompasses an effective investigation of an untimely death.”

The solicitor said the case would hopefully come to the High Court before the end of the year.

Mr Finucane said that leading law in the UK had shown that the inquest must satisfy certain standards and it could not due to the current restriction in Irish legislation.

“It causes real problems in the Keeler case there are several hospitals involved,” Mr Finucane said.

“The way medicine is working these days you can easily get through two doctors in a hospital visit.

“It is not just pie in the sky legal argument, it has real consequences.”