HOUSE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION 135

(By Delegates Ellington, Arvon, Atkinson, Bates, Criss, Dean, Fleischauer, Hill, Hollen, Householder, Love, Queen, Rodighiero, Rohrbach and Summers)

[Introduced April 7, 2017]

Requesting the Joint Committee on Government and Finance study the structure and duties of the West Virginia Medical Examiner’s Office.

Whereas, Currently there is one autopsy center in West Virginia to handle an increasing number of  forensic autopsies a year – with one currently unstaffed branch located in Morgantown; and

Whereas, The primary function of the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner is to perform death investigations, establish cause and manner of death, formulate conclusions, opinions or testimony in judicial proceedings, and to be available for consultations as necessary; and

Whereas, In 2015, the West Virginia Medical Examiner's office completed 1,236 autopsies; and

Whereas, There continues to be a shortage of pathologists in the state to provide adequate services for timely autopsies; and

Whereas, Autopsy cases require time-consuming transports from throughout WV to Charleston to be handled; and

Whereas, An autopsy can take anywhere from forty-five minutes to two days - once the autopsy is completed, more time is needed to write the report. There are further delays in any case in which the medical examiner has to consult with another agency or professional, such as toxicologists, the fire marshal, the Drug Enforcement Administration or the FBI; and

Whereas, Grand jury trial delays occur due to delay in autopsy reports; and

Whereas, The National Association of Medical Examiners recommends that each doctor perform no more than 250 autopsies per year; and

Whereas, A 2009 study by the National Academy of Sciences found that there were fewer than 500 licensed forensic pathologists in the country; therefore, be it

Resolved by the Legislature of West Virginia:

That the Joint Committee on Government and Finance is hereby requested to study the structure and duties of the West Virginia Medical Examiner’s Office; and, be it

Further Resolved, That the Joint Committee on Government and Finance report to the regular session of the Legislature, 2018, on findings, conclusions and recommendations, together with drafts of any legislation necessary to effectuate its recommendations; and, be it

Further Resolved, That the expenses necessary to conduct this study, prepare a report and draft necessary legislation to be paid from legislative appropriations to the Joint Committee on Government and Finance.