COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE
FOR
Senate Bill No. 540
[Originating in the Committee on Finance;
reported March 2, 2000.]
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A BILL to amend and reenact sections three, four, five, six, seven,
eight, nine, ten, ten-a, eleven, twelve, thirteen and
fourteen, article twelve, chapter sixty-one of the code of
West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as
amended, all relating generally to postmortem examinations and
the office of the chief medical examiner; stating more
explicit qualifications for position of chief medical
examiner; specifying term of appointment for same; providing
independent authority of same for certain purposes; requiring
continuous availability for consultation; directing the
secretary of the department of health and human resources to
propose certain legislative rules; authorizing certain agreements for use of fixtures, facilities and services;
specifying additional qualifications and providing for
compensation of pathologists performing services for the chief
medical examiner; providing for appointment, compensation and
removal of county medical examiners and assistant county
medical examiners; powers and duties of same; providing for
disclosure of certain medical records in death investigations;
providing for certain fines and fees; providing for release of
certain records under certain circumstances; requiring certain
notice in cases of sudden infant death syndrome; and making
technical changes and corrections.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That sections three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten,
ten-a, eleven, twelve, thirteen and fourteen, article twelve,
chapter sixty-one of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine
hundred thirty-one, as amended, be amended and reenacted, all to
read as follows:
ARTICLE 12. POSTMORTEM EXAMINATIONS.
§61-12-3. Office of chief medical examiner established;
appointment, duties, etc., of chief medical examiner;
assistants and employees; promulgation of rules.
(a) The office of medical examinations chief medical examiner is hereby established, to be operated under the control and
supervision of the director of the department of health within the
division of health in the department of health and human resources.
Such The office shall be directed by a chief medical examiner, who
shall be appointed by the director. The chief medical examiner may
employ assistants, pathologists, toxicologists, other forensic
specialists, laboratory technicians, regional medical examiners and
other staff members, as the director may specify needed to fulfill
the responsibilities set forth in this article.
(b) All persons employed by the chief medical examiner shall
be responsible to him or her and may be discharged by him for any
reasonable cause. The chief medical examiner shall specify the
qualifications required for each position in the office of medical
examinations office of chief medical examiner, and each position
shall be subject to such rules and regulations as the chief medical
examiner may prescribe prescribed by the secretary of the
department of health and human resources.
(c) The chief medical examiner shall be a physician licensed
to practice medicine or osteopathic medicine in the state of West
Virginia, who is a diplomat or eligible for certification by of the
American board of pathology or the American osteopathic board of
pathology in forensic pathology, and who has experience in forensic medicine. The chief medical examiner shall be appointed by the
director of the division of health to serve a five-year term unless
sooner removed, but only for cause, by the governor or by the
director.
(d) The chief medical examiner shall be responsible to the
director of the division of health in all matters except that the
chief medical examiner shall operate with independent authority for
the purposes of:
(1) The performance of death investigations conducted pursuant
to section eight of this article;
(2) The establishment of cause and manner of death; and
(3) The formulation of conclusions, opinions or testimony in
judicial proceedings.
(e) The chief medical examiner, or his or her designee, shall
be available at all times for consultation as necessary for
carrying out the functions of the office of the chief medical
examiner.
(f) The secretary of the department of health and human
resources is hereby directed to propose legislative rules in
accordance with the provisions of article three, chapter
twenty-nine-a of this code concerning:
(1) The proper conduct of medical examinations into the cause of death;
(2) The proper methods and procedures for postmortem inquiries
conducted by county medical examiners and coroners;
(3) The examination of substances taken from human remains in
order to determine the cause and manner of death; and
(4) The training and certification of county medical examiners
and coroners;
(g) The chief medical examiner is authorized to prescribe
specific forms for record books and official papers which are
necessary to the functions and responsibilities of the office of
the chief medical examiner.
(h) The chief medical examiner, or his or her designee, is
authorized to order and conduct an autopsy in accordance with the
provisions of this article and this code. The chief medical
examiner, or his or her designee, shall perform an autopsy upon the
lawful request of any person authorized by the provisions of this
code to request the performance of the autopsy.
(i) The salary of the chief medical examiner and the salaries
of all assistants and employees of the office of medical
examinations office of the chief medical examiner shall be fixed by
the Legislature from funds appropriated for that purpose. The
chief medical examiner shall take such an oath and provide such a bond as may be required by law. Within the discretion of the
department director of the division of health, the chief medical
examiner and his or her assistants shall lecture or instruct in the
field of legal medicine and other related subjects to the West
Virginia University or Marshall University school of medicine, the
West Virginia school of osteopathic medicine, the department of
public safety West Virginia state police, other law-enforcement
agencies and other interested groups.
§61-12-4. Central office and laboratory.
The office of medical examinations office of the chief medical
examiner shall establish and maintain a central office and a
laboratory having adequate professional and technical personnel and
medical and scientific facilities for the performance of the duties
imposed by this article. The central laboratory and office shall
be maintained in connection with the facilities of the West
Virginia University School of Medicine, and the director is hereby
empowered to contract for the use of such facilities. In order to
secure facilities sufficient to meet the duties imposed by the
provisions of this code, the chief medical examiner is authorized
to enter into agreements, subject to the approval of the director
of the division of health, with other state agencies or
departments, with public or private colleges or universities, schools of medicine or hospitals for the use of laboratories,
personnel, equipment and other fixtures, facilities or services.
§61-12-5. Certain salaries and expenses paid by state.
The salaries of the chief medical examiner, the technical and
clerical personnel salaries of all assistants and employees
employed in the central office and laboratory, the expenses of
maintaining the central office and laboratory and the cost of
pathological, bacteriological and toxicological services rendered
by others persons other than the chief medical examiner and his
assistants and of the personnel of the central office and
laboratory, shall be paid by the state out of funds appropriated
for that purpose.
§61-12-6. Chief medical examiner may obtain additional services
and facilities.
Subject to the approval of the director of the division of
health, the chief medical examiner may, in order to provide
facilities for the investigating investigation of the cause of
death as authorized in this article, employ and pay qualified
pathologists and toxicologists to make autopsies and such
pathological and chemical studies and investigations as he or she
considers may deem necessary, in the several counties or regions of
the state and he or she may arrange for the use of existing laboratory facilities for such purposes. whenever these are
available. The director may prepare a list of approved
pathologists available for this work in the several counties or
sections of the State, and in Qualified pathologists shall hold
board certification or board eligibility in forensic pathology or
have completed an American board of pathology fellowship in
forensic pathology. such case the chief medical examiner may call
upon such pathologists where they are available for services in
case of need.
§61-12-7. Medical examiners.
(a) The chief medical examiner shall appoint for each county
in the state a county medical examiner to serve for a term of three
years under the supervision of the chief medical examiner. A
county medical examiner shall be medically trained and licensed by
the state of West Virginia as a physician, registered nurse,
paramedic, emergency medical technician or a physician assistant,
be certified in the practice of medicolegal death investigation and
be of good moral character. turn over and deliver to his successor
in office all of the papers, reports and records of his said
office. Medical examiners shall be qualified physicians, licensed
to practice medicine in West Virginia County medical examiners are
authorized to establish the fact of death, and to make investigations into all deaths in their respective counties that
come within the provisions of section eight or ten of this article
and shall in timely fashion record findings of an investigation
using forms prescribed by the chief medical examiner. A county
medical examiner may be removed from office for cause at any time
by the chief medical examiner. Any vacancy in the office of county
medical examiner shall be filled by the chief medical examiner.
One person may be appointed to serve as county medical examiner for
more than one county, and the a county medical examiner need not be
a resident of the county which he or she serves. When it becomes
necessary, because of illness, absence, need, or personal interest,
the chief medical examiner shall have the power to appoint any
other qualified physician in the county in which a death is to be
investigated, to act as assistant medical examiner for such county.
If the chief medical examiner determines that it is necessary, he
or she may appoint any person medically trained and licensed by the
state of West Virginia as a physician, registered nurse, paramedic,
emergency medical technician or a physician assistant and of good
moral character to act as an assistant county medical examiner for
a term of three years. An assistant shall have the same powers and
duties as a county medical examiner and shall perform his or her
duties under the supervision of the chief medical examiner.
(b) A county medical examiner or his or her assistant county
medical examiner shall, at all times, be available to perform the
duties required under this article. He or she shall, additionally,
be paid a fee, as determined by the chief medical examiner, but
only for the actual performance of his or her duties.
(c) County medical examiners and assistant county medical
examiners are authorized to determine the cause and manner of death
in any case falling within the provisions of section eight of this
article, subject to the supervision of the chief medical examiner,
and may exercise any of the powers attendant to the investigation
of deaths.
§61-12-8. Certain deaths to be reported to medical examiners;
failure to report deaths; investigations and
reports; authority of medical examiners to
administer oaths, etc., fees.
(a) When any person shall die dies in this state from
violence, or by apparent suicide, or suddenly when in apparent good
health, or when unattended by a physician, or when an inmate of a
public institution, not hospitalized therein for organic disease or
from some disease which might constitute a threat to public health,
or in any suspicious, unusual or unnatural manner, the chief
medical examiner, or his or her designee or the county medical examiner, of the county in which such death occurs shall be
immediately notified by the physician in attendance, or if no
physician is in attendance, by any law-enforcement officer having
knowledge of such the death, or by the funeral director, or by any
other person present or having knowledge. Any physician or
law-enforcement officer, funeral director or embalmer who willfully
fails to comply with this section notification requirement shall be
is guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction, shall be fined not
less than fifty one hundred dollars nor more than five hundred
dollars. Upon receipt of such notice of a death under this
section, the chief medical examiner, or his or her designee or the
county medical examiner, shall take charge of the dead body and any
objects or articles which, in his or her opinion, may be useful in
establishing the cause or manner of death, and deliver them to the
law-enforcement agency having jurisdiction in the case. make
inquiries regarding the cause and manner of death, reduce his
findings to writing, and promptly make a full report thereof to the
chief medical examiner on forms prescribed for such purpose,
retaining one copy of such report for his own office records, and
that of the chief medical examiner and should deliver another copy
thereof to the prosecuting attorney of such county, and to any
attorney of record in any criminal proceedings or civil action wherein the cause of death is an issue. The medical examiner may
administer oaths and affirmations, and take affidavits and make
examinations as to any matter within the jurisdiction of his
office. The medical examiner shall take possession of any objects
or articles which, in his opinion, may be useful in establishing
the cause of death, and deliver them to the prosecuting attorney of
such county. For each investigation under this section, including
the making of the required reports, the medical examiner shall
receive such fee as may be determined by the commission on
postmortem examinations, which fee shall be paid by the state
In the course of an investigation of a death required to be
reported by this section, the chief medical examiner shall, upon
written request to any law-enforcement agency or any state or
regional correctional facility, be provided with all records of the
investigation of decedent's death and all records of decedent's
incarceration. Where a decedent received therapeutic, corrective or
medical treatment prior to death, the chief medical examiner may
request in writing that any person or other entity which rendered
the treatment promptly provide all records within its possession or
control pertaining to the decedent and the treatment rendered:
Provided, That nothing contained in this section may be construed
as precluding the chief medical examiner from directly inspecting or obtaining investigation records, incarceration records or
medical records related to the case. Where medical records of a
decedent become part of the chief medical examiner's file, they
shall be held as confidential and are not subject to subpoena or a
request for production.
(b) A county medical examiner, or his or her assistant, shall
make inquiries regarding the cause and manner of death, reduce his
or her findings to writing, and promptly make a full report thereof
to the chief medical examiner on forms prescribed by the chief
medical examiner, retaining one copy of the report for his or her
own office records and providing one copy to the prosecuting
attorney of the county in which the death occurred.
(c) A county medical examiner or assistant medical examiner
shall receive a fee for each investigation performed under the
provisions of this article, including the making of required
reports, which fee shall be determined by the chief medical
examiner and paid out of funds appropriated therefor.
§61-12-9. Permits required for cremation; fee.
It shall be the duty of any person cremating, or causing or
requesting the cremation of, the body of any dead person who died
in this state, to secure a permit for such the cremation from the
chief medical examiner, or from the medical examiner the county medical examiner or county coroner of the county wherein such the
death occurred, and any such person or persons who shall willfully
fail to secure such the permit, for cremation upon conviction
thereof, shall be fined not less than twenty two hundred dollars
and not more than five hundred dollars; such A permit for
cremation shall be acted upon by the chief medical examiner, or the
county medical examiner or the county coroner as promptly as
possible after review of the circumstances surrounding the death,
as indicated by the death certificate. A fee of five dollars shall
be paid to any medical examiner for his issuance of a permit for
cremation, such fee to be paid by the person requesting such
permit. The person requesting issuance of a permit for cremation
shall pay a reasonable fee, as determined by the chief medical
examiner, to the county medical examiner or coroner or to the
office of the chief medical examiner, as appropriate, for issuance
of the permit.
§61-12-10. When autopsies made and by whom performed; reports;
records of date investigated; copies of records and
information.
(a) If in the opinion of the chief medical examiner, or of the
county medical examiner of the county in which the death in
question occurred, it is advisable and in the public interest that an autopsy be made, or if an autopsy be is requested by either the
prosecuting attorney or the judge of the circuit court or other
court of record having criminal jurisdiction in that county, such
an autopsy shall be conducted by the chief medical examiner or his
or her designee, by a member of his staff, or by such a competent
pathologist as designated and employed by the chief medical
examiner shall designate and employ pursuant to under the
provisions of this article. For this purpose, the chief medical
examiner may employ any county medical examiner who is a qualified
pathologist who holds board certification or board eligibility in
forensic pathology or has completed an American Board of Pathology
fellowship in forensic pathology to make such the autopsies, and
the fees to be paid hereunder for autopsies hereunder under this
section shall be in addition to the fee provided for investigations
and made pursuant to section eight of this article. A full record
and report of the findings developed by the autopsy shall be filed
with the office of medical examinations office of the chief medical
examiner by such the person making the autopsy.
(b) Within the discretion of the chief medical examiner, or of
the person making such the autopsy, or if requested by the
prosecuting attorney of such the county, or of the county where any
injury contributing to or causing the death was sustained, a copy of such the report of the autopsy shall be furnished such to the
prosecuting attorney.
(c) The office of medical examinations the chief medical
examiner shall keep full, complete and properly indexed records of
all deaths investigated, containing all relevant information
concerning the death and the autopsy report if such be made. Any
prosecuting attorney or law-enforcement officer may secure copies
of such these records or information necessary to him for the
performance of his or her official duties.
(d) Copies of such these records or information shall be
furnished, upon request, to any party to whom the cause of court of
law, or to the parties therein to whom the cause of death is a
material issue, except where the court determines that interests in
a civil matter conflict with the interests in a criminal
proceeding, in which case the interests in the criminal proceeding
shall take precedence. The office of chief medical examiner shall
be reimbursed a reasonable rate by the requesting party for costs
incurred in the production of records under this subsection and
subsection (c) of this section.
(e) The chief medical examiner is authorized to release
investigation records and autopsy reports to the multidisciplinary
team authorized by section three, article five-d, chapter forty-nine of this code. At the direction of the secretary of the
department of health and human resources the chief medical examiner
may release records and information to other state agencies when
considered to be in the public interest.
(f) Any person performing an autopsy pursuant to the authority
of under this section shall be is empowered to keep and retain, for
and on behalf of the chief medical examiner, any tissue from the
body upon which the autopsy was performed which may be necessary
for further study or consideration.
(g) In cases of the death of any infant in the state of West
Virginia where sudden infant death syndrome is the suspected cause
of death and the chief medical examiner or the medical examiner of
the county in which the death in question occurred considers it
advisable to perform an autopsy, it is the duty of the chief
medical examiner or the medical examiner of the county in which the
death occurred to notify at least one parent or legal guardian in
written form of the purpose for the autopsy examination and to
provide to the parents or legal guardian(s) a report of the
findings of the autopsy examination within thirty days of
completion of such examination the sudden infant death syndrome
program within the division of maternal and child health and to
inform the program of all information to be given to the infant's parents.
§61-12-10a. Costs of transportation of bodies; when state will
pay; amount of payment.
Whenever an autopsy examination of a body is ordered pursuant
to section eight or ten of this article and the body of the
deceased is transported to the central laboratory or other autopsy
center of the office of medical examinations place of examination,
the reasonable cost of the transportation shall be paid by the
state out of funds appropriated to or for the use of the office of
medical examinations office of the chief medical examiner.
Transportation at state expense shall be provided from the place
where the body is being kept at the time the autopsy examination is
ordered to the central laboratory or autopsy center other place of
examination, and, upon completion of the autopsy the examination,
to the place designated by the person entitled to possession of the
body: Provided, That if the body is to be returned a greater
distance than it was taken for the autopsy examination, the state
shall only be obligated for the cost of return of the body equal to
or less than that incurred to take the body for the autopsy
examination. The payment shall be of a reasonable amount set by
the office of medical examinations the chief medical examiner,
including, but not limited to, payment of any part of the total cost as the office of medical examinations shall allow office of
the chief medical examiner allows.
§61-12-11. Exhumation; when ordered.
If, in any case of sudden, violent or suspicious death, the
body is buried without any investigation by the chief medical
examiner, or by a county medical examiner or coroner, it shall be
is the duty of the chief medical examiner or the county medical
examiner or coroner, upon being advised of such this fact, to
notify the prosecuting attorney of such the county, who shall
communicate the same to the judge of the circuit court or other
court of record having jurisdiction in such the county and such the
judge may order that the body be exhumed and an autopsy performed
thereon, as provided in section ten of this article and the
pertinent facts disclosed by the autopsy shall be communicated to
the prosecuting attorney of such the county.
§61-12-12. Facilities and services available to medical examiners.
Pursuant to proper rules and regulations as may hereafter be
promulgated by the chief medical examiner secretary of the
department of health and human resources, the facilities of the
office of medical examinations the chief medical examiner and its
laboratory, and the services of its professional staff, shall be
made available to the county medical examiners and coroners in their investigations under the provisions of section eight of this
article, and to the persons conducting autopsies under the
provisions of section ten of this article.
§61-12-13. Reports and records received as evidence; copies.
Reports of investigations and autopsies, and the records
thereof, on file in the office of medical examinations the chief
medical examiner or in the office of any county medical examiner,
shall be received as evidence in any court or other proceeding, and
copies of records, photographs, laboratory findings and records on
file in the office of medical examinations office of the chief
medical examiner or in the office of any county medical examiner,
when duly attested by the chief medical examiner or by the county
medical examiner, assistant county medical examiner or coroner in
whose office the same are filed, shall be received as evidence in
any court or other proceeding for any purpose for which the
original could be received without any proof of the official
character of the person whose name is signed thereto unless
objected to by counsel: Provided, however, That statements of
witnesses or other persons and conclusions upon extraneous matters
are not hereby made admissible.
§61-12-14. County coroners; appointment, oath, etc.; duties; fees.
It shall be is the duty of the county commission of every county, from time to time, to appoint a coroner for such the
county, who shall hold his the office during the pleasure of such
the commission and shall take the oath of office prescribed for
other county officers. The county coroners shall hereafter perform
such duties as may be assigned to them under the rules and
regulations promulgated by the board of health secretary of the
department of health and human resources and shall possess all
authority and all duties assigned to county medical examiners as
provided under section eight of this article. Coroners and shall
be paid such fees or amounts for such the services as may be fixed
by the chief medical examiner.
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(NOTE: The several purposes of this bill are as follows: (1)
Stating more explicit qualifications for position of chief medical
examiner; (2) specifying the term of appointment for the chief
medical examiner; (3)providing independent authority of the chief
medical examiner for certain purposes; (4) requiring continuous
availability for consultation of the chief medical examiner; (5)
directing the secretary of the department of health and human
resources to propose certain legislative rules; (6) authorizing
certain agreements for use of fixtures, facilities and services;
(7) specifying additional required qualifications and providing for
compensation of pathologists performing services for the chief
medical examiner; (8) providing for the appointment, compensation
and removal of county medical examiners and assistant county
medical examiners; (9) prescribing powers and duties of county
medical examiners; (10) providing for disclosure of certain medical
records in death investigations; (11) providing for certain fines
and fees; (12) providing for release of certain records under
certain circumstances; (13) requiring certain notice in cases of
sudden infant death syndrome; and (14) making technical changes and corrections.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from
the present law, and underscoring indicates new language that would
be added.)