Why wasn’t an autopsy performed on my loved one after your office accepted the case? Doesn’t an autopsy have to be performed on every Medical Examiner case?

• 8 August 2023

The Medical Examiner has the discretion to perform whatever examinations he deems necessary on a case by case basis. On deaths by apparent natural causes without an attending physician or traumatic deaths where the decedent has been hospitalized for a certain period of time, a forensic autopsy is not necessary. In such cases, medical records from the hospital or doctor’s office will be used in conjunction with an external examination of the deceased todetermine cause and manner of death.