The next of kin must have a properly completed death certificate and in some cases a certified copy of the autopsy report for legal purposes to claim insurance, receive government benefits, settle the decedents estate and pursue any legal actions they wish to initiate. The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner (OCME) is the State agency responsible for determining the cause and manner of sudden, unexpected or unnatural deaths falling under its jurisdiction (NH RSA 611-B:11). Fictional portrayals of coroners and medical investigators, however, are not always so accurate. Next: If the new sheriff in town is the county coroner, you know you've identified a cool profession. It could be anything; drug intoxication, heart attack/stroke, head injury could be suicide, could be accident, could be homicide. Medical Examiner | Milwaukee County While elected coroners can for the most part only be voted out of office by the people (and can be voted in regardless of qualifications), medical examiners are often required to have medical licensing or training, and serve at the pleasure of the board tasked with appointing them (often a county commission, by any of its names). This has lead to problems when coroners underperform or allow personal biases to interfere with or obstruct the objective execution of their duties. In order for evidence gathered during a coroners or medical examiners investigation to hold up in court, the investigators must be thoroughly familiar with crime scene procedure and follow chain of evidence practices. The duty of a coroner is to determine the truth about how a person died. However, if the Medical Examiner knows about the motivation for the objection, and an autopsy needs to be done, appealing to the specific concerns of the family or community may help to accomplish . Unfortunately, its PubMed, so you may not be able to access it without a login. 2007. Medical examiners and coroners have made a significant contribution toour nations ability to meet death reporting goals, especially for major public healthcrises like drug overdose and suicide. Coroners & Medical Examiners: The First Stop in a Death Investigation Brittania History. And as you'll see in the following pages, it's good work if you can find it. Also, the criminal and civil courts require certified documentation of the cause and manner of death. Commonly, these include violent, suspicious, sudden, and unexpected deaths, death when no physician or practitioner treated recently, inmates in public institutions, in custody of law enforcement, during or immediately following therapeutic or diagnostic procedures, or deaths due to neglect.
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