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Medicolegal death scene investigation
Article By:
Ernst, Mary Fran Department of Pathology, Saint Louis University School of Medicine, Saint Louis, Missouri.
Last reviewed:2009
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1036/1097-8542.YB090131
Medical examiner/coroner's (ME/C) offices investigate about 20% of the approximately 2.5 million deaths that occur in the United States each year. A medicolegal jurisdiction refers to either a county's medical examiner's or coroner's office. There are an estimated 500,000 deaths reported to medicolegal jurisdictions annually in the United States' 3137 counties. All 50 states, four territories, and the District of Colombia differ from one another with regard to their medicolegal system (medical examiner or coroner), statutory authority, resources, and interagency cooperation. Deaths reportable to a medical examiner's or coroner's office usually fall into the categories of violent, suspicious, sudden, and unexpected.
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