Toxicology Services

Coroner duties in relation to deaths Under Section 1 of the Coroners and Justice Act 2009 (CJA 2009) requires that a senior coroner "who is made aware that a body of a deceased person is within that Coroners area must as soon as practicable conduct an investigation into the persons deaths" if any of the following apply: (a) the deceased has died a violent and unnatural death (b) the cause of death is unknown, or (c) the deceased died while in custody or otherwise in state detention Northamptonshire Coroners Service Northamptonshire Coroner's Service is a countywide service provided by WNC, as the 'relevant authority'. Toxicology is sometimes necessary to determine a cause of death. Last calendar year there was 359 deceased persons that required toxicology tests for the Pathologist to determine a medical cause of death.