Can a family member of a deceased hospital patient request an autopsy even when the Coroner & hospital refuse?
113086
YES!  By law the immediate family has the right to ask for an autopsy.  The hospital and coroner are probably refusing because they believe the patient died of natural causes.  If you have any doubt, before anything pertaining to a funeral begins, GET AN AUTOPSY!
662795
"Dying relatives" is usually a pretty good excuse. Just be sure they recover, so you don't have to provide documentation afterward.
103538
To the morgue or funeral home?
1017
The route for this would be to file a civil claim for the benefits. As part of the evidentiary process, DNA samples could be taken from his relatives and your son to determine if he is related to the deceased without exhuming the body. I would talk to a local civil estate lawyer.
1003660
Contact your local medical examiner's office. They may let you watch if you show an interest in the profession. It's an awesome experience. I worked in a funeral home for 8 years & loved it!
285951
That depends on your state laws and on what you want it for. The autopsy report is usually available to close family members. Police reports are often considered public records and available to anyone for the copying fee or a nominal fee.\n\nIf you sue the police or someone else, you may be able to get the documents through discovery procedures.
1024813
You ask alot of questions regarding things that seem to be pointing to something bigger. However autopsys where I live are not performed out of necessity but by request. Depends on local laws regarding death.
970573
Hospitals CANNOT refuse you treatment in the case of an emergency. They will treat you and send you a bill (probably be in the mail before you get home...ha ha). They do have financial programs which can cut the bill in half or totally erase it depending on qualifications.
946483
That quite depends on the cause of death.  I have consulted on cases where an autopsy would not show anything that was not known.  \n\nHowever, if she is not buried or cremated yet, it would be best when the case is filed, shows that you are ready to hear the truth and want everything that is truthful to be available.  If the action that constituted the malpractice was documented afterward, you can probably proceed with the suit.  Remember that malpractice suits can be filed even when a patient lives through the incident, but it does require good documentation in the medical records.\n\nIf you would add some details, I will recheck and see if I can be of more assistance.
263785
so sorry about your mom .was there an autopsy done on her?if you know the people she was with ask them what went on if you cant get a straight answer go to the police tell them you feel something isnt right about your moms death give names if you no who she was with .just keeping digging for answers sooner or later some one will let it out as to what happened.
636524
Hi,\nI had always assumed that you had to have an M.D. or D.O. to be a coroner, but I guess that depending on the state or county in which you practice, you can have nursing training and other more basic types of medical training.  I put some links to information for coroner job requirements at different places in the country - maybe that can help you choose which direction to go in college.\n\nGood luck!
141125
Under certain circumstances, the inavailability of the witness will make hearsay admissable.  However, some states have a doctrine that makes the words of the dead even harder to use as evidence.\n\nYou'd need more facts.
1111383
I'm a hospital tech, and I cannot give you specifics due to Hippa laws but I can tell you this:\nI was in the ER with a patient that had overdosed. The body rejects all poisons and therefore the person was asphyixiating, hemorraging, and experiencing aneurisms.\nOn top of this, we had to run several IV's and strap the person down as they were screaming in severe pain.\nSo in my opinion, it can be a very painful death.
503605
My grandmother donated her body to Emory University/ Medical School when she died.  I'm not sure how she did it, but I'm sure that if you contact a medical school, they'd love to take you:)
865808
Autopsies are generally performed by medical doctors (MDs).  You have to go to med school and then a residency in pathology to perform autopsies.  \n\nFrom the Univ of Maryland website: Autopsies ordered by the state can be performed by a county coroner, who is not necessarily a physician. A medical examiner who performs an autopsy is usually a pathologist.\n\nThis information may be specific to Maryland and not applicable to the other 49 states.\n\n\nPh.D.s can do medical research, but they do not practice medicine, so they cannot perform autopsies (maybe if they are county coroner in Maryland?).  However, Ph.D.s can analyze data from autopsies, including blood alcohol level and detection of any type of specific compounds.\n\nFinal Note: County coroners are elected officials, who don't necessarily have *any* medical training.  I'd rather have a real pathologist trying to figure out why I died!\n\n\nYou can also perform your own autopsy here:\nhttp://www.le.ac.uk/pa/teach/va/welcome.html
799378
I would do as the hospital says, there must be a reason for it...especially if the scan is to do with the uterus.  Why not ask them...;
680802
Here's a company in Tennessee that will do it.\n\nIt may be enough to have someone review the written record of the autopsy and lab tests, without needing to perform a second autopsy.