Coroner's Seal

THE OFFICE OF THE CORONER

ASHLAND COUNTY, OHIO
DALE R. THOMAE, D.O., CORONER


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I. TYPES OF DEATH REPORTABLE TO THE CORONER'S OFFICE.

The following types of death must be reported to the Coroner's Office regardless of the time period involved from the incident to the time of death if the person did not regain their health to the status equal to or better than their health before the time of the incident.

A. ACCIDENTAL DEATHS:

  1. Asphyxiation by gagging on foreign substance, including food in the airway, compression of the airway or chest by hand, material or ligature, drowning, handling of cyanide, exclusion of oxygen, carbon monoxide, and/or gases causing suffocation.
  2. Blows or other forms of mechanical violence.
  3. Burns from fire, liquid, chemical, radiation or electricity.
  4. Carbon monoxide poisoning resulting from natural gas, automobile exhaust or other.
  5. Cutting, stabbing or gunshot wounds.
  6. Electrocution deaths.
  7. Drowning (actual or suspected).
  8. Electrical shock.
  9. Explosion.
  10. Falls, including hip fractures and other injuries.
  11. Firearm injuries.
  12. Inhalation of a potentially lethal substance.
  13. Hanging or entanglement.
  14. Stillborn or newborn infant death where there is a recent or past traumatic event involving the mother such as accident, homicide, suicide attempt, or drug ingestion that may have precipitated delivery or had a detrimental effect on the newborn.
  15. Vehicular accidents of any type vehicle including driver, passenger or related non-passenger such as being struck by parts flying or thrown from a vehicle.
  16. Weather related death including lightning, heat exhaustion, hypothermia or tornado.

B. HOMICIDAL DEATH:

By any means, suspected or known.

C. SUICIDAL DEATHS:

By any means, suspected or known.

D. OCCUPATIONAL DEATHS:

Instance in which the environment of present or past employment may have caused or contributed to the death by trauma or disease. Deaths in this classification include caisson disease (bends), industrial infections, pneumo-coniosis, present or past exposure to toxic waste or product, fractures, burns, or any other injury received during employment or as a result of injury received during past employment which may have contributed.

E. SUDDEN DEATH:

If the death occurs when in apparent health or in any suspicious or unusual manner including:

  1. DOA - Any person pronounced dead on arrival at any hospital emergency room or a hospital or doctor's office shall be reported.
  2. Infants and young children - Any infant or young child found dead shall be reported, including Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS or Crib Death).
  3. All stillborn or newborn infants where there is suspected or actual injury to the mother such as homicide, suicide attempt or drug ingestion that may have precipitated delivery or had a detrimental effect to the newborn.
  4. All deaths occurring within 24 hours of admission to a hospital unless the patient has been under continuous care of a physician. (Investigation may reveal that a physician who has treated the deceased is available and legally authorized to sign the death certificate. This latter will be decided on an individual case basis.)
  5. Where the attending physician has no reasonable opinion as to cause of death.
  6. Death occurring while in any jail, custody, confinement, or group home.
  7. Death under unknown circumstances whenever there are no witnesses or where little or no information can be elicited concerning the deceased person.
  8. Sudden death on streets, at home, in a public place or at the place of employment.
  9. Alcoholism.
  10. Drug abuse, habitual use of drugs or drug addiction.

F. SPECIAL CIRCUMSTANCES:

  1. Any death involving allegations of suspicious medical malpractice or possibly poor medical judgment.
  2. Any maternal or infant death where there is suspicious or illegal interference by unethical or unqualified persons or "self destruction".
  3. "Delayed death" which is an unusual type of case where the immediate cause of death may actually be from natural disease. The injury, however, may have occurred days, weeks, months or even years before death and is responsible for initiating the sequence of medical conditions or events leading to death. This would be considered a Coroner's case and therefore reportable. The most common examples of this type of case are:
        1. past traffic and industrial accidents with debilitating injury.
        2. long term care in a nursing home.
        3. hip fractures of the elderly where there is a downward course of condition after injury.

G. THERAPEUTIC DEATHS:

  1. Death occurring under the influence of anesthesia, during the anesthetic induction, during the post anesthetic period, without the patient regaining consciousness, and including death following long term survival if the original incident is thought to be related to the surgical procedure and /or anesthetic agents.
  2. Death during or following any diagnostic or therapeutic procedure whether medical or surgical regardless of the location, circumstances, or survival time if death is thought to be directly related to the procedure or complications from said procedure.
  3. Death due to the administration of a drug, serum, vaccine or any other substance for any diagnostic, therapeutic or immunological purpose.

H. ANY DEATH WHERE THERE IS A QUESTION, DOUBT, or SPECIAL CIRCUMSTANCE.

Not all reported cases fall into the above categories. After the investigation is completed, many will be returned to the jurisdiction or institution where the death certificate will be signed by the attending physician as a natural death. Only the Coroner can legally sign a death certificate of a person who has died as a direct or indirect result of any cause listed in the previously mentioned reportable deaths section.

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