Iowa Coroner/Medical Examiner Laws

Medicolegal death investigation system

Is medical death investigation system centralized, county-based, or district-based?
County. Iowa Admin. Code r. 641-127.1.

If centralized, in which department or agency is the system housed?
Not applicable.

Does the state system have a coroner, medical examiner, or coroners and medical examiners?
Medical examiner. [County medical examiners] means a medical or osteopathic physician or surgeon licensed in the state of Iowa and appointed by the board of supervisors to serve in this capacity. Iowa Admin. Code r. 641-127.1.

A county medical examiner shall be appointed by the board for a two-year term. Iowa Code Ann. § 331.801.

"In practice" notes
None.

Is there a state medical examiner?
Yes. Iowa Code Ann. § 691.5.

If so, what is the state medical examiner's role?
The duties of the state medical examiner shall be:

1. To provide assistance, consultation, and training to county medical examiners and law enforcement officials.

2. To keep complete records of all relevant information concerning deaths or crimes requiring investigation by the state medical examiner.

3. To adopt rules pursuant to chapter 17A and subject to the approval of the director of public health.

4. To collect and retain autopsy fees as established by rule. Autopsy fees collected and retained under this subsection are appropriated for purposes of the state medical examiner's office. Notwithstanding section 8.33, any fees collected by the state medical examiner that remain unexpended at the end of the fiscal year shall not revert to the general fund of the state or any other fund but shall be available for use for the following fiscal year for the same purpose.

5. To conduct an inquiry, investigation, or hearing and administer oaths and receive testimony under oath relative to the matter of inquiry, investigation, or hearing, and to subpoena witnesses and require the production of records, papers, and documents pertinent to the death investigation. However, the medical examiner shall not conduct any activity pursuant to this subsection, relating to a homicide or other criminally suspicious death, without coordinating such activity with the county medical examiner, and without obtaining approval of the investigating law enforcement agency, the county attorney, or any other prosecutorial or law enforcement agency of the jurisdiction to conduct such activity.

6. To adopt rules pursuant to chapter 17A relating to the duties, responsibilities, and operations of the office of the state medical examiner and to specify the duties, responsibilities, and operations of the county medical examiner in relationship to the office of the state medical examiner.

7. To perform an autopsy or order that an autopsy be performed if required or authorized by section 331.802 or by rule. If the state medical examiner assumes jurisdiction over a body for purposes of performing an autopsy required or authorized by section 331.802 or by rule under this section, the body or its effects shall not be disturbed, withheld from the custody of the state medical examiner, or removed from the custody of the state medical examiner without authorization from the state medical examiner.

8. To retain tissues, organs, and bodily fluids as necessary to determine the cause and manner of death or as deemed advisable by the state medical examiner for medical or public health investigation, teaching, or research. Tissues, organs, and bodily fluids shall be properly disposed of by following procedures and precautions for handling biologic material and blood-borne pathogens as established by rule.

9. To collect and retain fees for medical examiner facility expenses and services related to tissue recovery. Fees collected and retained under this subsection are appropriated to the state medical examiner for purposes of supporting the state medical examiner's office and shall not be transferred, used, obligated, or otherwise encumbered. Notwithstanding section 8.33, any fees collected by the state medical examiner shall not revert to the general fund of the state or any other fund.

10. To provide staffing and support for the child death review team and any child fatality review committee under section 135.43.

Iowa Code Ann. § 691.6.

In what department or agency is the state medical examiner's office located?
Iowa Department of Public Health. Iowa Code Ann. § 691.5.

Are there deputies?
The position of deputy state medical examiner is created within the office of the state medical examiner. Iowa Code Ann. § 691.6A.

Appointment. A county medical examiner may appoint one or more deputy county medical examiners upon approval by the board of supervisors and the state medical examiner. Iowa Admin. Code r. 641-127.8.

If so, what are the deputies' roles?
The deputy state medical examiner shall report to and be responsible to the state medical examiner. The deputy state medical examiner shall meet the qualification criteria established . . . for the state medical examiner and shall be subject to rules adopted by the state medical . . . The state medical examiner and the deputy state medical examiner shall function as a team, providing peer review as necessary, fulfilling each other's job responsibilities during times of absence, and working jointly to provide services and education to county medical examiners, law enforcement officials, hospital pathologists, and other individuals and entities. The deputy medical examiner may be, but is not required to be, a full-time salaried faculty member of the department of pathology of the university of Iowa college of medicine . . . Iowa Code Ann. § 691.6A.

Duties. A DCME shall serve at the direction of the county medical examiner and may perform any duty of a county medical examiner which is delegated by the county medical examiner to the DCME. Iowa Admin. Code r. 641-127.8.

What are the qualifications for deputies?
A DCME shall be licensed in the state of Iowa as a medical or osteopathic physician or surgeon. Iowa Admin. Code r. 641-127.8.

Qualifications, term of office, and training

Is the coroner or medical examiner position elected?
No. Iowa Code Ann. § 331.801.

If so, how many years is the term of office?
Not applicable.

What are the qualifications specified by law?
The state medical examiner shall be a physician and surgeon or osteopathic physician and surgeon, be licensed to practice medicine in the state of Iowa, and be board certified or eligible to be board certified in anatomic and forensic pathology by the American board of pathology. The state medical examiner shall be appointed by and serve at the pleasure of the director of public health upon the advice of and in consultation with the director of public safety and the governor. The state medical examiner, in consultation with the director of public health, shall be responsible for developing and administering the medical examiner's budget and for employment of medical examiner staff and assistants . . . Iowa Code Ann. § 691.5.

To serve as a county medical examiner a person shall be licensed in this state as a doctor of medicine and surgery, a doctor of osteopathic medicine and surgery, or an osteopathic physician. Iowa Code Ann. § 331.801.

Investigations/autopsies

What types of deaths are required to be investigated?
1. A person's death which affects the public interest as specified in subsection 3 shall be reported to the county medical examiner or the state medical examiner . . .

2. If a person's death affects the public interest, the county medical examiner shall conduct a preliminary investigation of the cause and manner of death, prepare a written report of the findings, promptly submit the full report to the state medical examiner on forms prescribed for that purpose, and submit a copy of the report to the county attorney . . .

3. A death affecting the public interest includes, but is not limited to, any of the following:

a. Violent death, including homicidal, suicidal, or accidental death.

b. Death caused by thermal, chemical, electrical, or radiation injury.

c. Death caused by criminal abortion including self-induced, or by sexual abuse.

d. Death related to disease thought to be virulent or contagious which may constitute a public hazard.

e. Death that has occurred unexpectedly or from an unexplained cause.

f. Death of a person confined in a prison, jail, or correctional institution.

g. Death of a person who was prediagnosed as a terminal or bedfast case who did not have a physician in attendance within the preceding thirty days; or death of a person who was admitted to and had received services from a hospice program as defined in section 135J.1, if a physician or registered nurse employed by the program was not in attendance within thirty days preceding death.

h. Death of a person if the body is not claimed by a person authorized to control the deceased person's remains under section 144C.5, or a friend.

i. Death of a person if the identity of the deceased is unknown.

j. Death of a child under the age of two years if death results from an unknown cause or if the circumstances surrounding the death indicate that sudden infant death syndrome may be the cause of death.

k. Death of a person committed or admitted to a state mental health institute, a state resource center, the state training school, or the Iowa juvenile home.

4. The county medical examiner shall conduct the investigation in the manner required by the state medical examiner and shall determine whether the public interest requires an autopsy or other special investigation. However, if the death occurred in the manner specified in subsection 3, paragraph "j", the county medical examiner shall order an autopsy, the expense of which shall be reimbursed by the Iowa department of public health. In determining the need for an autopsy, the county medical examiner may consider the request for an autopsy from a public official or private person, but the state medical examiner or the county attorney of the county where the death occurred may require an autopsy . . .

Iowa Code Ann. § 331.802.

What types of deaths are required to be autopsied?
127.3(1) Autopsy required. A county medical examiner shall perform an autopsy or order that an autopsy be performed in the following cases:

a. All cases of homicide or suspected homicide, irrespective of the period of survival following injury.

b. All cases in which the manner of death is undetermined.

c. All cases involving unidentified bodies.

d. All deaths of children under the age of two when there is not a clear cause of death, including suspected cases of sudden infant death syndrome. A summary of the findings of the autopsy shall be transmitted by the physician who performed the autopsy to the county medical examiner within two days of completion of the report. Autopsies performed on children under the age of two when the circumstances surrounding the death indicate that sudden infant death syndrome may be the cause of death or the cause of death is not clearly explained by known medical history shall conform to Form ME-4.

e. All work- and farm-related deaths unless there is an obvious natural cause of death.

f. All drowning deaths.

g. All deaths of commercial vehicle drivers that occur during the performance of their job duties.

h. Deaths due to poisoning.

i. Deaths of airplane pilots who die as a result of an airplane crash. The National Transportation Safety Board and the Federal Aviation Administration should be contacted prior to the autopsy to request specimen kit(s).

j. Deaths due to a natural disaster, including tornadoes and floods.

k. Deaths in a prison, jail or correctional institution or under police custody, where there is not a natural disease process that accounts for the death.

127.3(2) Autopsy recommended. It is recommended that a county medical examiner should perform an autopsy or order that an autopsy be performed in the following cases:

a. Deaths of adolescents less than 18 years of age when there is not a natural cause of death.

b. All cases which involve a motor vehicle crash, unless it is a single motor vehicle accident with no potential for litigation and there is an obvious cause of death or the injuries have been clearly documented by hospitalization.

c. Rescinded IAB 3/29/06, effective 5/3/06.

d. Deaths from suicide.

e. All pedestrian, bicycle, motorcycle, snowmobile, boating, watercraft, three- or four-wheeler or all-terrain vehicle fatalities.

f. Deaths due to failure of a consumer product.

g. Deaths due to a possible public health hazard.

h. Deaths due to drug or alcohol abuse or overdose.

i. Electrical- and lightning-related deaths.

j. Deaths from burns or smoke or soot inhalation.

k. All deaths related to exposure, such as hypothermia and hyperthermia.

l. All sport-related deaths, including but not limited to deaths from auto racing and deaths resulting from injuries sustained in football, basketball, baseball, softball, soccer, or other games or sports.

127.3(3) Other deaths. For those deaths not listed in subrule 127.3(1) or 127.3(2), a county medical examiner shall determine whether the public interest requires an autopsy and may perform an autopsy or order that an autopsy be performed. A county medical examiner may consult with the state medical examiner to assist in determining the need for an autopsy.

127.3(4) Performance of autopsy.

. . . Autopsies may be authorized by the state medical examiner, the county medical examiner for the county in which the death occurred or the county where any injury contributing to or causing the death was sustained, or the county attorney who would have jurisdiction in any criminal proceeding related to the death . . . The following cases/types of deaths shall be transported to the office of the state medical examiner for autopsy unless otherwise approved by the state medical examiner:

(1) Deaths of adolescents through 18 years of age when there is not a known or preexisting natural cause of death.

(2) All cases of homicide or suspected homicide, irrespective of the period of survival following injury.

(3) Deaths of children under the age of 2 years if death results from an unknown cause or if the circumstances surrounding the death indicate that Sudden Infant Death Syndrome may be the cause of death.

(4) All suspicious suicides.

(5) All high-profile deaths including, but not limited to, deaths of elected officials in municipal, state or federal government.

(6) All deaths of inmates occurring in any institutions under the department of corrections as outlined in Iowa Code section 904.102, excluding those deaths that result from a pre-existing medical condition . . . Autopsies may be authorized by the state medical examiner, the county medical examiner for the county in which the death occurred or the county where any injury contributing to or causing the death was sustained, or the county attorney who would have jurisdiction in any criminal proceeding related to the death.

Iowa Admin. Code r. 641-127.3.

Does the state require that pathologists perform the autopsies?
Yes, [a]n autopsy shall be performed by a pathologist trained or with experience in forensic pathology, licensed to practice medicine and surgery or osteopathic medicine and surgery in the state of Iowa and board-certified by the American Board of Pathology, or under the direct supervision of a physician with these qualifications. Iowa Admin. Code r. 641-127.3.

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