Inquests & Inquiries

Overview

The best regulatory set in the country, without a doubt!” – Legal 500 2022

Members of Six Pump Court have considerable experience of appearing in Coroners’ inquests and at major public inquiries.

At every level of call from the silks to the juniors, we are familiar with the procedural and substantive issues which arise in such arenas. Our clients rightly increasingly recognise that there are potentially adverse implications for interested persons, both organisations and individuals, of not engaging with the inquisitorial process through strategic, expert and well-prepared representation.

Six Pump Court’s well recognised grounding in all aspects of regulation, in particular health and safety, consumer and environmental, enables us fully to understand and represent clients’ positions as to the background subject matter, however wide-ranging that might be. Very often Health and Safety cases involve fatalities. In such cases members of Chambers frequently act both at the Inquest and in any criminal proceedings. We boast considerable experience of construction accidents, workplace transport incidents, electrocutions and other industrial fatalities.

Examples of Chambers’ Inquest & Inquiries work includes:

Public Inquiries:

  • the Grenfell Tower Inquiry (Members of Chambers instructed for a range of Core Participants, including corporates, government departments and individuals)
  • the Litvinenko Inquiry
  • the Hillsborough Stadium Disaster Inquiry

Inquests:

  • death of a 3 year old girl killed by an exploding inflatable trampoline (for safety enforcement authority)
  • worker killed by racking in semi-mechanised cold storage warehouse (for safety enforcement authority)
  • killing of vulnerable adult drowned by two associates of ex-lover
  • Mubenga deportation-restraint at Heathrow
  • Hasanovic: murder of wife by husband following CPS decision not to pursue earlier domestic violence allegations – defence of CPS policy position
  • death by choking of a care home resident on a soft diet but given solid food

 

Latest news

29th September 2021

Six Pump Court barristers recommended in nine areas of law in the Legal 500 2022

Six Pump Court has been recommended in 9 areas of law in the Legal 500 2022 with 62 individual recommendations.

1st October 2020

Six Pump Court barristers recommended in eleven areas of law in the Legal 500 2021

Six Pump Court has been recommended in eleven areas of law in the Legal 500 2021 with 65 individual recommendations.

27th September 2019

Six Pump Court barristers recommended in eleven areas of law in the Legal 500 2020

Six Pump Court has been recommended in eleven areas of law in the Legal 500 2020 with 59 individual recommendations.

2nd November 2018

Six Pump Court ranked Band 1 Set and barristers ranked in twelve practice areas in 2019 Chambers UK Bar Guide

Six Pump Court Chambers is delighted to be ranked as a Band 1 Set with Set rankings in Crime, Consumer Law Environment, Health & Safety and Planning in the new 2019 Chambers UK Bar Guide.

30th October 2018

Six Pump Court barristers recommended in twelve areas of law in the Legal 500 2019

Six Pump Court has been recommended in twelve areas of law in the Legal 500 2018 with 59 individual recommendations.

13th October 2017

Six Pump Court barristers recommended in twelve areas of law in the Legal 500 2017

Six Pump Court has been recommended in twelve areas of law in the Legal 500 (2017) with 57 individual recommendations.

10th October 2017

Inquest concludes shopping centre roof contributed to fatality

The jury in the Tahnie Martin inquest concerning the university worker killed by a large wooden panel that broke off the roof of a shopping centre in Wolverhampton in February 2017, have returned their conclusions.

14th September 2016

Six Pump Court ranked Tier 1 in Environmental Law in Legal 500 (2016)

Six Pump Court is pleased to be ranked a Tier 1 set in Environmental Law and to be ranked as a set in five...

17th September 2015

Six Pump Court barristers recommended in twelve areas of law in the Legal 500 (2015)

Six Pump Court is recommended in twelve areas of law in the Legal 500 (2015) with 50 individual recommendations. This year there were twelve...

25th September 2014

Megan Thomas in First Environmental Damage Public Inquiry

Megan Thomas has represented Severn Trent Water Ltd at the first appeal ever to be heard under the Environmental Damage (Prevention & Remediation) Regulations 2009....

Our inquests & inquiries team

Stephen Hockman QC

Stephen Hockman KC

Call: 1970, KC: 1990
Mark Watson QC

Mark Watson KC

Call: 1994, KC: 2018
W Robert Griffiths QC

W Robert Griffiths KC SC

Call: 1974, KC: 1993
Richard Barraclough

Richard Barraclough KC

Call: 1980, KC: 2003
Mark Harris

Mark Harris

Call: 1980
Lee Bennett

Lee Bennett

Call: 1998