Coroner Research Paper

There are different roles that go into a death system; and one of them is the coroner’s office. A coroner’s office determines who the deceased was and how, when and where their death happened. When it comes to a coroner’s office there are different views on coroners and their qualifications. Through my research you will see that many states either have a coroner’s office or a medical examiner system. There are many aspects that go into working in a coroner’s office. Coroners have to go through different producers before they can release a body. You will see why the coroner’s office role in the death system.
Most coroners are usually people that have been elected to office. Most coroners are qualified to be at least forensic pathologists, but
most coroners aren’t really required to have any type of qualification other than being a U.S. Citizen of the jurisdiction. Medical examiners are required to be a physician or have some type of training, like forensic pathology (Hickman, Hughes, Strom, Ropero-Miller, 2007). Most states relied on the coroner’s inquest that finds the cause of death of the deceased. Some states or counties would prefer to replace the coroners with a medical examiner because coroners lack some of the tools and training of a medical examiner has. In most states, there may not be a whole lot of qualified forensic pathologists around or the facilities needed for them to do their jobs right. In states or counties with very little or no violent crimes or unexplainable deaths don't require a full-time forensic pathologist. Those coroners conventionally doesn’t have accessible to those administration of a medicolegal pathologist or a national state lab for directing autopsies; Furthermore making related exploratory tests, in spite of the fact that these factors do shift alongside states predominantly under coroner’s framework (Flynn, 1955). Sometimes coroners bring in a physician if they can’t determine the cause of death, but even a coroner’s physician doesn’t have the proper training to make the proper determination of the cause of death. Therefore, having to bring in a doctor to perform an autopsy, then the coroner office makes the final discussion on how the deceased died. Coroners can sometimes be dishonest by trying to cover up the evidence or not report the correct cause of death. They can sometimes overrule or ignore the physician who actually did the autopsy. “The findings of the coroner's jury, in fact, are not competent evidence in a trial of a case, so that, as the situation now is, the state's attorney and the police are compelled to act entirely independently of the coroner and obtain the evidence themselves.” (X. Office of the Coroner, 47) Medical examiner has shown their skills through practice and with that they can give a more reliable determination of the cause of death. Medical examiners have all the tools that most coroners do not, like techniques with lab testing and can perform autopsies. It’s been shown that medical examiner have provided more accurate causes of death, like natural causes, suicides, or violent death rather than the coroners. There are many different aspects that go into working in a coroner’s office.
A doctor may report the death to a coroner if the cause of death is unknown, violent or unnatural, sudden and unexplained; those were just a few that would be sent in to a coroner. “Example of a sudden and unexpected death would be, if the heart attack is caused by the deceased having been left bound and gagged for many hours by a burglar.”(Urpeth, 2010, p131) Coroners are mostly ascribed to a natural cause because the doctor is unclear of which natural cause it is (Urpeth, 2010). If the coroner decides that the cause of the death is known, and then the doctor signs a medical certificate, it’s then taken to the registrar. The coroner issues a certificate to a registrar stating that a post-mortem isn’t needed. A post-mortem is an examination of a deceased body to determine the cause of death. A post-mortem is either done in a hospital or mortuary. If satisfied that the death is natural, no post-mortem examination is carried out and the coroner completes a form. If it is unclear whether the death is natural or not, a post-mortem examination is carried out (Urpeth, 2010). “For example, if it is known that the deceased died of a cardiac event of cause unknown, a coroner may order a partial postmortem limited to the thoracic cavity.” (Urpeth, 2010, p131) Many families object to having a post-mortem examination but you cannot object a coroner’s post-mortem. After the post-mortem the coroner releases the body to the family or funeral home once they have completed the post-mortem examinations and no further examination is needed. If the body is released with no inquest, the coroner will send a form to the registrar stating the cause of death. Another process which a coroner would examine is an inquest. An inquest is a judicial inquiry to ascertain the facts relating to an incident, such as a death. A coroner would have to do an inquest if the cause of death is still unknown or if the person died
a violent or unnatural death or died in prison or police custody. Till the inquest is over the death cannot be registered. The coroner is responsible for sending the relevant paperwork to registrar. These are the procedures that go into working in the coroner’s office. Throughout my research you seen that it depends on the state or county whether it is preferred to have a coroner or a medical examiner because most feel as though medical examiners are more reliable. Mostly coroners are elected into the position and some have some type of degree that makes them qualified. Sometimes it’s better to a medical examiner because they have the qualification and tool procedures to determine the cause of death of an individual. Depending on the circumstances they will perform a post-mortem or inquest to find the exact cause of death.