Coroner Prioritizes Jacob Simpson Inquest After 4-Year Delay as Family Still Lacks Death Certificate
Updated
Updated · BBC.com · Jun 14
Coroner Prioritizes Jacob Simpson Inquest After 4-Year Delay as Family Still Lacks Death Certificate
3 articles · Updated · BBC.com · Jun 14
Summary
A pre-inquest hearing could be held next month after senior coroner Gareth Lewis apologized and said Jacob Simpson’s case is now a priority, four years after the newborn died following his June 2022 birth.
Staff shortages in the Carmarthenshire and Pembrokeshire coroner’s office, worsened by the Covid pandemic, were cited for the delay; the family says it still has no inquest, no full answers and no death certificate.
Hywel Dda University Health Board had already identified failings in Kianty Simpson’s labour — including poor communication, inadequate fetal monitoring and failure to escalate care — before halting its own investigation in June 2024.
In January 2026 the board admitted negligence and accepted Jacob’s death was avoidable, then made a compensation offer in February that the Simpsons rejected as they continue to seek a full public account of what happened.
The family says the unresolved case has prolonged trauma, affected parenting after the birth of their second child, and left them unable to scatter Jacob’s ashes while they wait for a full hearing.