Two-year-old James Alexander Edward Duncan died in the Cumberland Infirmary on July 17, 2025, just two weeks after his second birthday

Opening the inquest at Allerdale House in Workington on April 9, Senior Coroner for Cumbria Kirsty Gomersal, said: “I’d like to offer to baby James’ parents, his family and all those who loved him my condolences on their little boy’s passing.”

Ms Gomersal continued: “The brief circumstances of baby James’ death are that he was found unresponsive at his home address and taken to the Cumberland Infirmary in Carlisle, where his death was sadly pronounced at 5.23pm on July 17.”

She said that a paediatric post-mortem had been undertaken, which offered a cause of death on the balance of probabilities as ‘unascertained, query Sudden Unexplained Death in Childhood’.

Ms Gomersal said that given the cause of death is unascertained, an inquest is required.

The coroner’s office has requested a statement from one of the attending police officers setting out the circumstances of police attendance and the outcome of any investigation.

Disclosure was also requested from North West Ambulance Service regarding James’ conveyance to hospital, and from the clinician who treated him.

Ms Gomersal said that once all disclosure has been received, a decision would be made on whether any witnesses would be required to attend the inquest, and whether it could proceed on the provisional date set of July 23.

Courtesy of The Westmorland Gazette | North Lancs