The family of an autistic woman who died after being hit by a lorry while in the care of a private residential home has won a legal battle to replace the coroner overseeing her inquest.
Ian Pears, acting senior coroner for Bedfordshire and Luton, recused himself from investigating the death of Colette McCulloch after her parents instructed lawyers to pursue a judicial review of his “dismissive” and “biased” handling of the case.
McCulloch, 35, was killed on the A1 after walking out of Pathway House, near Bedford, in the early hours of 28 July 2016. She had been distressed after being told she must move out of the home and had previously attempted to harm herself.
Her parents, Amanda and Andy McCulloch, were angry at Pears’s initial refusal to look at circumstances beyond the traffic accident, as well as what they and their lawyers felt had been a “combative and sarcastic” tone in his correspondence, and a number of delays.
The McCullochs have been battling to secure a full inquest for their daughter since December 2016 and it was the second time they had launched legal proceedings against the coroner. They had been crowdfunding to try to raise the tens of thousands of pounds needed for the case.
“It’s a huge relief,” Andy McCulloch said. “Obviously, the expense was terrifying in itself; the thought of going through that process was not easy. So it’s a huge relief he’s given way.
“I have to say he’s wasted 18 months of our lives with this because [of] his behaviour from the very beginning. From December 2016 he’s done nothing but obstruct the process, which has been obviously very depressing and very upsetting; but also he’s been totally adversarial, he’s not behaved as a coroner should at all.”
Merry Varney, a partner in the human rights department at Leigh Day and the family’s solicitor, said: “Although this decision by acting senior coroner Pears is very welcome, it is a complete travesty that the parents have had to go through this.
“This case is a stark reminder why improvements to the coronial system and the treatment of bereaved families is so badly needed.”
On 4 May, the McCullochs sent a letter before action threatening judicial review if the coroner did not recuse himself.
Their allegations included that a fair-minded and informed observer would conclude that there was a real possibility that the acting senior coroner was biased against the family.