James Healy-Pratt, Partner and Head of the Aviation department at Stewarts, has been appointed as HM Assistant Coroner for East Sussex.

James’s role as assistant coroner is an independent judicial role. He is part of a team of six assistant coroners who will support the senior coroner in investigating reported deaths from unnatural or unknown causes.

James recently addressed more than 100 attendees at the Flight Global Insurance briefing at Lloyds of London, in his personal rather than official judicial capacity, about the role of coroner’s inquests in air accidents. His talk focused on the personal insights he has gained in the 25 years plus dealing with inquests for both families and corporate clients.

James referred to the recent Gillingham Hall and Shoreham Air Show crashes as examples of the role of the coroner’s inquest. He went on to outline current legal issues, including the impact a criminal prosecution can have on the inquest process. He also touched on some upcoming high profile inquests including the Shoreham pre-inquest review scheduled for November.

Lastly, James covered the issues facing aviation insurers, including reputational risk and admission of liability.

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Media contact: Lydia Buckingham, Senior Marketing Executive, +44 (0) 20 7822 8134, lbuckingham@stewartslaw.com