45-16-23 G
*** CODE SECTION *** 12/03/01
45-16-23.
(a) Notwithstanding any other provision of this chapter, any coroner
or county medical examiner may delegate to a local medical examiner,
forensic consultant, or medical examiner's investigator the power to
perform those duties of such coroner or medical examiner specified
in this Code section if the person to whom such power is thus
delegated meets the applicable requirements of this Code section for
the performance of such duties, but the performance of those
delegated duties shall not in any manner infringe upon or diminish
the authority of the peace officer in charge at the scene of the
crime.
(b) A local medical examiner shall be a licensed physician appointed
by the state medical examiner to perform scene investigations,
external examinations, limited dissections, autopsies, or any
combination of such duties.
(c) A forensic consultant shall be an expert in a field of forensic
science, including but not limited to odontology or anthropology,
appointed and authorized by the state medical examiner to examine
human remains and evidence under the medical examiner's
jurisdiction.
(d) A medical examiner's investigator shall be a person employed by
a medical examiner to perform duties of such medical examiner with
the same authority as the medical examiner while at the scene of
death and during subsequent investigation, except that no medical
examiner's investigator is authorized to make any arrest or perform
official external examinations, limited dissections, or autopsies.
45-16-24 G
*** CODE SECTION *** 12/03/01
45-16-24.
(a) When any person dies in any county in this state:
(1) As a result of violence;
(2) By suicide or casualty;
(3) Suddenly when in apparent good health;
(4) When unattended by a physician;
(5) In any suspicious or unusual manner, with particular attention
to those persons 16 years of age and under;
(6) After birth but before seven years of age if the death is
unexpected or unexplained;
(7) As a result of an execution carried out pursuant to the
imposition of the death penalty under Article 2 of Chapter 10 of
Title 17;
(8) When an inmate of a state hospital or a state, county, or city
penal institution; or
(9) After having been admitted to a hospital in an unconscious
state and without regaining consciousness within 24 hours of
admission,
it shall be the duty of any law enforcement officer or other person
having knowledge of such death to notify immediately the coroner or
county medical examiner of the county wherein the body is found or
death occurs. For the purposes of this Code section, no person shall
be deemed to have died unattended when the death occurred while the
person was a patient of a hospice licensed under Article 9 of
Chapter 7 of Title 31.
(b) A coroner or county medical examiner who is notified of a death
pursuant to subsection (a) of this Code section shall order a
medical examiner's inquiry of that death.
(c) Whenever an affidavit is made and filed with a court having
criminal jurisdiction attesting that a person came to his death by
foul play, that court may interrogate and examine witnesses, if any
exist, as to the necessity of a medical examiner's inquiry. Should
the court decide that a medical examiner's inquiry is essential to
the ends of justice, such inquiry shall be ordered by that court.
(d) A medical examiner's inquiry required under this Code section
shall be reduced to writing and filed as provided in Code Section
45-16-32. At the time of such filing, a copy of the medical
examiner's inquiry into a death reported to a coroner or county
medical examiner pursuant to paragraph (6) of subsection (a) of this
Code section shall also be transmitted to the department of family
and children services of the county in which the child resided at
the time of death.
45-16-25 G
*** CODE SECTION *** 12/03/01
45-16-25.
(a)(1) Upon receipt of the notice required by Code Section
45-16-24, the coroner or county medical examiner shall immediately
take charge of the body. If a registered professional nurse
authorized to make a pronouncement of death under Code Section
31-10-16 or a qualified physician is not available, a coroner,
deputy coroner, or medical examiner's investigator may make a
pronouncement of death at the investigation scene if, and only if,
one or more of the following conditions is met:
(A) The body is in a state of rigor mortis with lividity
present;
(B) The body is in a state of decomposition evidenced by a
component of putrefaction;
(C) The body is skeletonized; or
(D) Death has been established by qualified emergency medical
services personnel.
(2) It shall be the duty of a coroner notified as required by Code
Section 45-16-24 to summon a medical examiner and proper peace
officer. It shall be the duty of a county medical examiner so
notified to summon a proper peace officer. When present at the
scene of death, the peace officer shall have jurisdiction over the
scene of death. The medical examiner or coroner and the peace
officer shall together make inquiries regarding the cause, manner,
and circumstances of death. If either the peace officer or
medical examiner is not present at the scene of death, then
whichever of the two officers is present shall have jurisdiction
over the scene of death. If neither the peace officer nor the
medical examiner is present at the scene of death in any county in
which the office of coroner has not been replaced by a county
medical examiner, the coroner shall assume the responsibility of
such officers at the scene of death and shall have the body
transported to a local medical examiner who shall conduct a
medical examiner's inquiry. The medical examiner, at any time, to
facilitate examination, when he or she deems it necessary, may
have the body embalmed or retain it for refrigeration for
preservation or to avoid the threat of infectious disease prior to
release of the body to the next of kin. Such expense of embalming
shall be paid by the county of the coroner's or medical examiner's
jurisdiction.
(b) When positive identification of dead bodies has not been
established conclusively through personal visual examination of the
remains by persons well acquainted with the decedent in life or by
comparison of fingerprints or footprints or by identification of
unique physical characteristics, such as prosthetic appliances, or
by comparison of skeletal X-rays, including previous fractures, or
by amputations, the medical examiner must either chart or X-ray the
decedent's dentition or call upon a licensed dentist of the medical
examiner's choosing to carry out a dental examination of the body.
This may be accomplished either by examination in situ or by removal
of the jaws with teeth to the dentist's office. The dentist shall
chart the deceased's dentition and make two copies, one of which
shall be filed with the medical examiner's inquiry report to the
division and the other with the Georgia Crime Information Center of
the Georgia Bureau of Investigation. The dentist may, at his or her
discretion, make such X-rays of the mouth as he or she deems
necessary. The dentist shall be paid a fee as determined in
accordance with Code Section 35-3-151. These fees shall be paid by
the county of the coroner's or local medical examiner's
jurisdiction.
(c) The coroner or county medical examiner shall, in the absence of
the next of kin of the deceased person, take possession of all
property of value found on such person, make an exact inventory
thereof on his or her report, and surrender the same to the person
entitled to its custody or possession. The coroner, medical
examiner, or peace officer shall take possession of any objects,
anatomical specimens, or articles which, in his or her opinion, may
be helpful in establishing the cause of death, manner of death, or
identification of the deceased; and in cooperation with the division
he or she may make such tests and examinations of said objects,
specimens, or articles as may be necessary or useful in determining
the cause of death, manner of death, or the identity of the
deceased. At his or her discretion, the medical examiner or coroner
may dispose of such objects, specimens, or articles when the medical
examiner's or coroner's need for their retention has ended. In the
event that a criminal prosecution arises, all such objects and
articles together with reports of any examinations made upon them
shall be retained in the custody of the director of the division
until their production as evidence is required by the prosecuting
officer or upon written order of the peace officer in charge or
court having proper jurisdiction.
45-16-25.1 G
*** CODE SECTION *** 12/03/01
45-16-25.1.
A dead body, other than skeletal remains, taken into custody under
this article shall be released to the next of kin of the deceased,
or to the agent of the next of kin, no later than 24 hours after the
demand for release by that next of kin, or agent thereof, unless by
that time the peace officer, medical examiner, or coroner has made a
written finding that foul play may have been involved in the death
of the deceased.
45-16-26 G
*** CODE SECTION *** 12/03/01
45-16-26.
When there is no coroner or deputy coroner in a county in which the
office of coroner has not been replaced by a county medical examiner
or when both are absent from the county when needed or will not or
cannot perform the duties required under this article, the medical
examiner shall assume the duties and responsibilities of the
coroner. When the medical examiner is performing the duties of the
coroner in such cases, such medical examiner may sign the death
certificate except when an inquest is held.
45-16-27 G
*** CODE SECTION *** 12/03/01
45-16-27.
(a) Coroners shall require an inquest to be conducted in their
respective counties as follows:
(1) When any person dies under any circumstances specified in
paragraphs (1) through (8) of subsection (a) of Code Section
45-16-24; provided, however, that an inquest is not required to be
held, although the coroner is authorized to hold an inquest, under
the following circumstances:
(A) When upon the completion of the medical examiner's inquiry
the peace officer in charge and the medical examiner are
satisfied that, even though death resulted from violence, no
foul play was involved. In this event, the peace officer in
charge and the medical examiner shall make a written report of
their investigation and findings to the division as set forth in
Code Section 45-16-32 and upon their recommendation, the coroner
shall make and file a proper death certificate;
(B) When there is sufficient evidence to establish the cause and
manner of death, even though the medical examiner's inquiry
revealed that death resulted from foul play;
(C) When no demand for an inquest is made within 30 days after
the filing of the death certificate. However, if such demand is
made by the party or parties affected by the death, the coroner
is authorized to hold the inquest;
(D) When upon the completion of the medical examiner's inquiry
the medical examiner and peace officer in charge are
sufficiently satisfied that death resulted from natural causes,
and that medical examiner or coroner is willing to and does sign
and file a proper death certificate, and no demand for an
inquest is made within 30 days thereafter;
(D.1) In cases of deaths resulting from an accident involving
any civil aircraft, it shall be the responsibility of the peace
officer in charge to notify the National Transportation Safety
Board or the Federal Aviation Administration of such accident,
to proceed to the scene and guard the area in such manner that
no bodies, wreckage, cargo, or mail shall be moved or disturbed
until authorized by a representative of the National
Transportation Safety Board or the Federal Aviation
Administration except to the extent necessary to remove persons
injured or trapped, to protect the wreckage from further damage,
or to protect the public from injury. Where it is necessary to
move aircraft wreckage, mail, or cargo, sketches, descriptive
notes, and photographs shall be made, if possible, of the
original positions and condition of the wreckage and any
significant impact marks. The coroner or medical examiner shall
assist investigators from the National Transportation Safety
Board or the Federal Aviation Administration as authorized by
federal law;
(E) When after full and complete investigation no evidence of
foul play is found in cases of hidden cause of death which fall
under the jurisdiction of the coroner. The coroner shall be
authorized to sign the death certificate on the basis of the
information given to him in the reports of the peace officer in
charge and the medical examiner, provided that, in such hidden
causes of death, after a complete investigation, if sufficient
medical history is obtained by the coroner, the peace officer in
charge, or the medical examiner to disclose the cause of death
and if the attending physician will sign the death certificate,
such cases shall not come under the jurisdiction of the coroner;
provided, further, that, if there are sufficient competent
eyewitnesses to an act in the opinion of the peace officer in
charge, such cases shall not come under the jurisdiction of the
coroner; or
(F) In cases of deaths of personnel in the armed forces of the
United States government resulting from airplane disasters
involving airplanes of the armed forces, including crashes or
explosions, which deaths shall not come under the jurisdiction
of the coroner. It shall be the responsibility of the peace
officer in charge to notify the proper armed forces of the
United States government immediately of such airplane crashes or
explosions in order that they may send their trained forces to
the scene for investigation. It shall be the duty of the peace
officer in charge, when notified of such crashes or explosions,
to proceed to the scene and guard the area in such manner that
no bodies or parts of said airplanes shall be moved or disturbed
until the arrival of proper investigating officers from the
armed forces of the United States government;
(2) When an inmate of a state hospital or a state, county, or city
penal institution dies unexpectedly without an attending physician
or as a result of violence. The chief medical examiner or his or
her designee, regional medical examiner, or local medical examiner
shall perform all medical examiners' inquiries. The coroner, in
those counties in which such office has not been replaced by a
local medical examiner, shall hold an inquest after receiving the
written reports as set forth in Code Section 45-16-32;
(3) When ordered by a court in connection with a medical
examiner's inquiry ordered by that court pursuant to subsection
(c) of Code Section 45-16-24; or
(4) Notwithstanding any other provisions of this subsection, no
person shall be deemed to have died unattended by a physician when
the death occurred while the person was a patient of a hospice
licensed under Article 9 of Chapter 7 of Title 31.
(b) On and after July 1, 1999, coroners shall be entitled to an
investigation fee of $125.00 where no jury is impaneled or a fee of
$250.00 where a jury is impaneled and shall be paid upon receipt of
a monthly statement to the county treasury. A deputy coroner shall
receive the same fee as the coroner for the performance of services
in place of the coroner and shall be paid upon receipt of a monthly
statement to the county treasury. Such fee shall be paid within ten
days after receipt of the coroner's monthly statement by the county
where the investigation or inquest is held except in counties where
the coroner receives an annual salary, in which case no fee shall be
imposed upon the county by such salaried coroner or deputy coroner.
(c) When a coroner or a medical examiner conducts an investigation
into the death of an individual, the coroner or medical examiner
shall be authorized to issue subpoenas to compel the production of
any books, records, or papers relevant to the cause of death
including without limitation AIDS confidential information as
defined by Code Section 31-22-9.1. Any books, records, or papers
received by the coroner or medical examiner pursuant to the subpoena
must be regarded as confidential information and privileged and not
subject to disclosure under Article 4 of Chapter 18 of Title 50.
The actual costs of copying any books, records, or papers for the
purposes of responding to a subpoena under this subsection shall be
paid out of county funds to the person or entity required to respond
to that subpoena, and the governing authority of the county of which
that coroner or county medical examiner is a public officer shall
pay those costs within 30 days after a bill therefor is submitted to
the county.
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