Michael Hudson, a much loved family man from Lincolnshire tragically died on 5 May 2019, a day before his 63rd Birthday.
Michael had been travelling to work along College Road, Goxhill when his vehicle left the road and landed in a nearby field with significant and extensive damage after appearing to roll over several times. It is not known why his vehicle left the road or what happened next. However, it appears he was able to climb out of the vehicle through a window as his body was discovered around 100 metres away in a shallow lake, he had sadly drowned.
An inquest took place in 2020, and the conclusion was that Michael had most likely died by suicide. His family were not content with this decision and felt very strongly that suicide was not the correct conclusion. There was no evidence that this was a deliberate act, nor was there any evidence of any significant mental health problems. All the evidence appeared to suggest that Michael was intending to arrive at work that fateful day, but something happened beyond his control which prevented this.
At the time of his death Michael had many plans for the future including his upcoming retirement, a luxury holiday with his wife, and another grandchild due to be born later in the year, which he was ecstatic about.
The family felt very strongly that the evidence at the inquest had not been properly considered and there were missing pieces of information. They could not accept the conclusion of suicide and anyone who knew Michael agreed.
They decided to instruct local solicitors, Bridge McFarland LLP, to advise them.
Bridge McFarland agreed to carry out preliminary investigations, which included interviewing others who were at the scene of the accident and taking detailed statements. This evidence had not been obtained during the initial inquest and cast significant doubt about the conclusion of suicide, especially when it transpired that another vehicle may have been involved in the circumstances of the initial collision.
After carefully considering the evidence, Bridge McFarland advised and assisted Michael’s family in making an application to the Attorney General under section 13 of the Coroners Act 1988 to request that permission be granted to allow an application to the High Court to quash the original inquest conclusion.
A complex application was made to the Attorney General seeking the necessary permission to apply to the High Court. This involved a meticulous analysis of the inquest proceedings, identification of material errors and deficiencies in the conclusion and the preparation of detailed legal submissions explaining why it was necessary and desirable in the interests of justice for the conclusion to be quashed.
Permission was granted by the Attorney General and an application was made to the High Court to request that the original inquest conclusion be quashed and a new inquest listed. That application was successful.
A fresh inquest followed and all relevant evidence was considered, after which it was found by HM Senior Coroner, Paul Smith, that Michael had suffered a head injury during the car crash and that this would have been consistent with a temporary loss of consciousness and thereafter dizziness, confusion and disorientation. It was also found that there was no evidence that Michael had either deliberately crashed his car or had deliberately entered the lake. Instead it was found that he entered the lake accidently whilst disorientated and that his death was as a result of an unfortunate accident which led to him drowning.
Staci Markham, a Partner at Bridge McFarland LLP, helped the family with the complex process to get the original inquest quashed and provided advocacy and support at the fresh inquest to ensure that the evidence was considered properly.
Staci said “It has been a long process to get this result for Michael’s family, but it has been very rewarding to have achieved the outcome that they wanted. Whilst they sympathise with any families affected by suicide, it was important to them that this was not recorded as Michael’s cause of death. It has been a privilege to act for the family and the love they all share for Michael has been central as to why they embarked on this process in the first place.”
Michael’s family are now content that his death has been recorded as a tragic accident, which is what they always felt to be the case. No one knew Michael better and they never believed that he would have deliberately taken his own life when he had everything to live for. This complex legal process has not been easy for the family to go through but they felt it was important for everyone who knew Michael, and for those generations still to come within the family, to know that he did not leave them intentionally and that his life was tragically cut short due to an accident.
Margaret Hudson, Michael’s widow said “I want to sincerely thank Staci for all the hard work she has done assisting us with this journey and I would also like to thank the Coroner and his team for really listening to the evidence and reaching what we consider to be the right outcome after all this time. We can now finally lay Michael to rest.”
If you or a loved one requires support with any aspect of an inquest process, please feel free to contact us on 0800 987 8800 or e-mail enquiries@bmcf.co.uk
