South Cork coroner ordered to hear inquest into maternal death at CUH
In August last year, the Irish Examiner was told by the Cork City Coroner’s office that the deaths of both Ms Yankeu and her daughter Mary 'were treated as natural and no inquest was required'.
The Attorney General has directed that the coroner for South Cork hear the inquest into the maternal death of a Cameroonian woman, after a legal challenge in the High Court.
The legal team representing the family of 31-year-old Geraldine Yankeu wrote to the AG in September to seek directions after a High Court hearing which heard the Cork City Coroner, Philip Comyn, will not now hear her inquest following a legal challenge by the family.
The Cork City Coroner previously consented to a declaration there was a reasonable apprehension of objective bias on his part because he initially made a decision not to hold an inquest into the death.
The court also heard the coroner also consented to an order quashing his decision last February to schedule or proceed with the inquest into the death of Ms Yankeu and her stillborn baby girl Mary last April.
The Attorney General has now directed that the inquest be heard by coroner for South Cork, Frank O’Connell. No date has yet been set for inquest.
Under the Coroners Act 2019, inquests are mandatory in cases of maternal deaths.
Ms Yankeu’s death on August 8, 2021, followed the still-birth of her daughter Mary 11 days earlier.
In August last year, the was told by the Cork City Coroner’s office that the deaths of both Ms Yankeu and her daughter Mary “were treated as natural and no inquest was required”.
However, four days later, a statement from the office said: “Baby Mary Yankeu’s death was treated as a 'Natural Death'".
Her family’s legal team subsequently requested the Attorney General give directions in the “unprecedented situation”, “given that the coroner has agreed to ‘step aside’ and there is no legal provision for another coroner to ‘step in’".
The family’s legal team highlighted in correspondence to the Attorney General there is nothing in the Coroners Acts to outline what should occur in a situation such as this, where a coroner stands aside.
The team also raised the “great deal of time and money”, which has gone into the process to date.
