Chapter 1: Interacting with Federal, State, and Local Agencies
questions with complete solutions death investigations are MULTIDISCIPLINARY in scope - Correct Answers *ME Office - MDI, autopsy tech, pathologist, secretary *Doctors - anthropologist, odontologist, chemist/tox *LE - detective, CSI, officers/deputies, dispatch *CJ - prosecutors, state attorney *EMS - paramedics, ED staff *Agencies - IG, DCF, OSHA, FAA, DOC, VS *other - hospice, RNs, funeral directors, OPO, vital statistics, civilians, NOK Official pronouncement of death can - Correct Answers be determined by state statute and local customs Healthy infant found unresponsive in crib at home, rushed to hospital and maintained on respirator for 26 before being declared dead. No trauma or disease noted by physician. - Correct Answers The coroner has jurisdiction because of the unexplained death of an infant Your office is investigating a suspected SIDS death. You should notify statewide SIDS program - Correct Answers as soon as possible following the autopsy In general _______ are NOT normally considered for organ/tissue procurement purposes - Correct Answers reproductive organs anencephalic - Correct Answers an infant born without a brain bereavement - Correct Answers sorrow following the death of a loved one brain death - Correct Answers final cessation of activity in CNS, indicated by a flat EEG or absence of cerebral blood flow for a predetermined period of time cardiac death - Correct Answers final cessation of activity in the cardiovascular system involving the heart and blood vessels 1 / 2
cessation - Correct Answers the final stoppage of action coroner - Correct Answers typically an elected official who decided whether a death occurred under circumstances that require an autopsy, either by law or to determine manner or COD. a coroner can determine the scope of an autopsy and who will perform it if elected coroner is not qualified jurisdiction - Correct Answers the power or authority a court of office has over individuals or trauma legal NOK - Correct Answers the person from whom the MDI must secure consent before initiating any procurement activity medical examiner - Correct Answers a medical doctor, although not necessarily a highly trained pathologist. decides whether a death occurred under circumstances that require an autopsy. usually appointed to the position and may have jurisdiction for a county, district, or state OPO (organ procurement organization) - Correct Answers the agency responsible for identifying potential donors, obtaining consent, and procuring organs postmortem changes - Correct Answers alterations of the body following death, including decomposition and environmental resuscitative injuries statutes - Correct Answers laws enacted by the legislative branch of government verify - Correct Answers establish of confirm the accuracy of information or evidence through testimony vital statistics - Correct Answers a governmental agency responsible for maintaining a system of registration and release of records for the public, including birth, marriage, divorce, and death deaths reported to ME (standard) - Correct Answers homicides, suicides, poisoning/toxicity, MVAs, accidents, trauma, inmates/persons in LE custody, burns, deaths while on the job, sudden or unexplained infant and adult deaths, no signing physician/no medical history death reported to ME in some jurisdictions (according to textbook) - Correct Answers no attending physician within 30 hrs of death, treating physician refuses to sign, maternal deaths due to abortion, deaths due to medical procedures
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