HB 375 -- County Coroners

Sponsor:  Cooper (120)

This bill makes several changes to the laws regarding coroners.
The bill:

(1)  Allows payment from the county or city to a pathologist,
chemist, or other expert when employed by a coroner;

(2)  Clarifies that when a person dies while being transferred
for medical treatment or is being treated in an emergency room of
a receiving facility, the county or state from which the person
is first removed is considered to be the place of death and makes
that coroner responsible for the certificate of death.
Notification of a county coroner is also necessary when certain
institutionalized persons die after being transferred to an
institution in another county.  If the coroner in the county
where the person died believes further investigation is
warranted, the coroner may investigate with authorization from
the transferring county coroner;

(3)  Requires emergency room staff or a county coroner to notify
the transferring county coroner when a death occurs during
transfer and make information and records available for any
investigation; and

(4)  Makes the county of origin of a deceased person responsible
for any investigation in the case of homicide, suicide, child
fatality, or any unusual or suspicious death.

Missouri House of Representatives
Last Updated July 25, 2003 at 10:11 am