Our grief following the accidental death of our child

One of a series of leaflets published by The Compassionate Friends The police investigate all unexplained, suspicious deaths in the UK. They will eventually decide if there are potential grounds for prosecuting anyone involved in the accident, and if so, they will make a referral to the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS). The CPS then decide whether there is sufficient evidence to bring the case to court. This can take a long time, even years. If we were involved in the accident, witnessed what happened, or know something related to it, we may be asked to give a statement to the police. What we say will be written down and possibly also recorded. This can be a stressful process, and a friend or family member may be allowed to attend the interview alongside us for support. If we have communication needs, we should be entitled to some extra assistance. A ’child death review’ takes place after the death of every child under the age of 18 in the UK. We should be appointed a key worker who is usually a professional from the NHS. They will be our main contact throughout the review process. This will eventually include a Child Death Overview Panel (CDOP) who will consider what happened to our child. For more on the legal formalities, see the following links: Child death review: When a child dies – a guide for parents and carers (published by the NHS) https://bit.ly/WhenAChildDies Coping with legal proceedings: tcf.org.uk/legalproceedings Practical and legal aspects of inquests in England and Wales: tcf.org.uk/legalhelp Investigation of sudden and unexplained deaths in Scotland: tcf.org.uk/scotlandinvestigation