Death by misadventure

Short description: Death by voluntary risk

For other uses, see Medicine:Death by misadventure (disambiguation).

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In the United Kingdom, death by misadventure is the recorded manner of death for an accidental death caused by a risk taken voluntarily.[1]

Misadventure in English law, as recorded by coroners and on death certificates and associated documents, is a death that is primarily attributed to an accident that occurred due to a risk that was taken voluntarily. In contrast, when the manner of death is given as an accident, the coroner has determined that the decedent had taken no unreasonable willful risk.[1]

> "Misadventure may be the right conclusion when a death arises from some deliberate human act which unexpectedly and unintentionally goes wrong."[2]

Legally defined manner of death: a way by which an actual cause of death (trauma, exposure, etc.) was allowed to occur. For example, a death caused by an illicit drug overdose may be ruled a death by misadventure, as the user took the risk of drug usage voluntarily. Misadventure is a form of unnatural death, a category that also includes accidental death, suicide, and homicide.[1]

In the case of R v Wolverhampton Coroner,[3] it was held that the coroner must establish death by misadventure on the balance of probabilities, commonly known as "more likely than not". This is opposed to beyond reasonable doubt, which is used elsewhere.[4]

## Selected list of deaths by misadventure

List of deaths by misadventure  Person  | Date of death  | Manner of death  | Ref

|
|
|

Kristian Digby  | 1 March 2010  | Auto-erotic asphyxiation  | [5]
Brian Jones | 3 July 1969  | Drowned in a pool  | [6]
Julia Lennon  | 15 July 1958  | Hit by car  | [7]
Gaynor Lord  | c. 8 December 2023  | Drowned in a river  | [8]
Stephen Milligan  | 7 February 1994  | Auto-erotic asphyxiation  | [9]
Bon Scott  | 19 February 1980  | Alcohol poisoning  | [10]
Oliver Steeper  | 23 September 2021  | Choked at nursery  | [11]
Amy Winehouse  | 23 July 2011  | Alcohol poisoning  | [12]

## See also

* Inquests in England and Wales

## References

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Bryant, Clifton D. (2003). Handbook of Death & Dying. Thousand Oaks, California: Sage Publications. pp. 968. ISBN 978-0-7619-2514-9.
2. ↑ "Coroners Guidance No.17". https://www.judiciary.uk/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/guidance-no-17-conclusions.pdf.
3. ↑ R v Wolverhampton Coroner, ex p McCurbin [1990] 1 WLR 719
4. ↑ Munday, R. J. C. (2018). Cross and Tapper on evidence (13th ed.). Oxford. ISBN 978-0-19-966860-1. OCLC 1082270459.
5. ↑ "BBC TV presenter Kristian Digby's death 'misadventure'". BBC News. 9 November 2010. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-11718414. Retrieved 9 November 2010.
6. ↑ "From the archive, 8 July 1969: Jones drowned while 'drunk and drugged'". The Guardian. 8 July 2011. https://www.theguardian.com/theguardian/2011/jul/08/archive-brian-jones-death-1969.
7. ↑ "Dashed into car: misadventure verdict on Liverpool woman". Liverpool Echo (Liverpool, England). 15 August 1958. https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000271/19580815/018/0001.
8. ↑ Murray, Jessica (1 October 2024). "Gaynor Lord died by misadventure after entering Norwich river, coroner finds". The Guardian (Norwich, England). https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2024/oct/01/gaynor-lord-died-by-misadventure-after-entering-norwich-river-coroner-finds.
9. ↑ "MP 'was worried over tarnished television image': Coroner records misadventure verdict on Milligan". The Independent. 23 March 1994. https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/mp-was-worried-over-tarnished-television-image-coroner-records-misadventure-verdict-on-milligan-1430950.html.
10. ↑ Jinman, Richard (19 February 2005). "25 years on, AC/DC fans recall how wild rocker met his end". The Guardian (London). https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2005/feb/19/arts.artsnews.
11. ↑ Hannett, Josie (23 May 2024). "Coroner flags concerns over first aid training". BBC. https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c4nnvdye0l1o.
12. ↑ "Amy Winehouse died of alcohol poisoning, second inquest confirms". 8 January 2013. https://www.theguardian.com/music/2013/jan/08/amy-winehouse-alcohol-poisoning-inquest.

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