Fatal Accident Inquiries are held under the Fatal Accidents and Sudden Deaths Inquiry (Scotland) Act 1976. An inquiry must be held in cases of death in custody or as a result of an accident at work. An inquiry may be held in other cases of sudden, suspicious or unexplained death, or death in circumstances that give rise to serious public concern. Decisions on whether these discretionary inquiries are held are made by the Lord Advocate.
Procurators Fiscal investigate around 14,000 sudden deaths each year. There are usually around 50 or 60 Fatal Accident Inquiries in Scotland each year.
A Fatal Accident Inquiry is essentially a fact-finding exercise carried out in the public interest. The rules of evidence and the standard of proof are as for civil cases in Scotland. The purpose is to determine where and when the death took place, the cause of the death, reasonable precautions whereby the death might have been avoided, the defects, if any, in any system of working which contributed to the death or any accident resulting in the death, and any other relevant facts relevant to the circumstances of the death.
The purpose is not to apportion blame for the death in either the civil or criminal sense. A Fatal Accident Inquiry may be held in addition to any criminal or civil proceedings.
Responsibility for Implementing Recommendations
Recommendations are made by sheriffs at the conclusion of Fatal Accident Inquiries. The responsibility for learning any lessons which come out of the inquiry, and for implementing any recommendations made, lie with those who have responsibility for managing the systems in question. Examples would include employers, in the case of a death at work, or hospital managers in the case of a death due to medical mishap. The Government expects the responsible bodies to take seriously any recommendations for change which emerge from a fatal accident enquiry, and to take appropriate action in response.