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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:
- 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.
- Blows or other forms of mechanical violence.
- Burns from fire, liquid, chemical, radiation or electricity.
- Carbon monoxide poisoning resulting from natural gas, automobile
exhaust or other.
- Cutting, stabbing or gunshot wounds.
- Electrocution deaths.
- Drowning (actual or suspected).
- Electrical shock.
- Explosion.
- Falls, including hip fractures and other injuries.
- Firearm injuries.
- Inhalation of a potentially lethal substance.
- Hanging or entanglement.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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:
- DOA - Any person pronounced dead on arrival at any hospital
emergency room or a hospital or doctor's office shall be reported.
- Infants and young children - Any infant or young child found
dead shall be reported, including Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS
or Crib Death).
- 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.
- 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.)
- Where the attending physician has no reasonable opinion as to
cause of death.
- Death occurring while in any jail, custody, confinement,
or group home.
- Death under unknown circumstances whenever there are no witnesses
or where little or no information can be elicited concerning the deceased
person.
- Sudden death on streets, at home, in a public place or at
the place of employment.
- Alcoholism.
- Drug abuse, habitual use of drugs or drug addiction.
F. SPECIAL CIRCUMSTANCES:
- Any death involving allegations of suspicious medical malpractice
or possibly poor medical judgment.
- Any maternal or infant death where there is suspicious or illegal
interference by unethical or unqualified persons or "self destruction".
- "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:
- past traffic and industrial accidents with debilitating
injury.
- long term care in a nursing home.
- hip fractures of the elderly where there is a downward course
of condition after injury.
G. THERAPEUTIC DEATHS:
- 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.
- 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.
- 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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