HWN Suggests

Medical Examiner: 'Staying Alive Is Mostly Common Sense'

The reason I wrote the book is because if you watch the nightly shows, CSI, Bones, all the forensic dramas, they tend to give the impression that the forensic pathologist is all-knowing and springs from the womb knowing everything. And the reality is that there is a training process, and it's a gradual training process — it's on the job. And we make mistakes, and not all crimes are solved, and not all deaths are crimes. In fact, most deaths are naturals, are accidents.

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Featured

 Failed Autopsies, False Arrests: A Risk of Bias in Death Examinations

Disastrous errors by medical examiners have raised questions about whether they are influenced by prejudgments and a close relationship with the police.

 Medical examiners and coroners have borne a heavy burden during the COVID-19 pandemic and have often felt invisible and unsupported

The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the need for additional safety precautions to reduce exposure and spread for the protection of medical examiners, coroners and death investigation teams.

 Piled Bodies, Overflowing Morgues: Inside America’s Autopsy Crisis

Medical examiners provide crucial insights into public health and safety. What happens when we don’t have enough of them?

 Solving scientific mysteries as a medical examiner

To Mitchell, the profession has offered a unique opportunity to combine his somewhat disparate interests in science, medicine, and community service.

 The Doctors Whose Patients Are Already Dead

Inside the autopsy lab, pathologists talk about the emotional rewards of medicine's most-maligned specialty—and what it's like to work side-by-side with death.

 The Police Called It an Accident. She Turned to 1-800-Autopsy

The close ties between coroners and law enforcement have fueled an unusual and unregulated industry: for-profit forensic examinations.

Articles of Interest

Brains and bone saws: a day with the chief medical examiner of New York City

We spent a normal Wednesday in one of the busiest medical examiner offices in the country. It’s not homicide that brings most people in – it’s dying alone.

A Group Founded by Colin Kaepernick Is Providing Free Second Autopsies

The examinations by board-certified forensic pathologists will be available for the families of people who died in police-related circumstances.

Coroners Don't Need Degrees To Determine Death

In the United States there isn't just one system. Coroners can be elected or appointed. Some are also sheriffs or funeral home directors. But many coroners aren't doctors. There are also medical examiners, who usually are medical doctors but may not be forensic pathologists trained in death investigation.

Medical Examiners Skip Some Autopsies, As Opioid Crisis Mounts

Struggling to keep pace with the mounting death toll from fatal opioid overdoses, medical examiners across the U.S. are skipping some autopsies and pleading for funds to hire more staff.

When the Death Certificate Omits the True Cause of Death

Having accurate death records saves lives.

Resources

National Association of Medical Examiners

The National Association of Medical Examiners (NAME) is the national professional organization of physician medical examiners, medicolegal death investigators and death investigation system administrators who perform the official duties of the medicolegal investigation of deaths of public interest in the United States.

National Registry of Certified Medical Examiners

The primary mission of the National Registry is to improve highway safety by producing trained, certified medical examiners who can effectively determine if interstate commercial motor vehicle (CMV) drivers meet FMCSA's physical qualification standards.

CDC

Medicolegal death investigations conducted by medical examiners and coroners are crucial to understanding causes of death, monitoring evolving health challenges, and – ultimately – saving lives.