§61-12-14. County Coroners; Appointment, Oath, etc.; Duties; Fees
The county commission of every county may appoint a coroner for the county, who shall hold the office at the pleasure of the commission and shall take the oath of office prescribed for other county officers. The county coroners shall be certified in medicolegal investigations, be continually available to perform the duties required under this […]
§61-12-15. Disposition of Unidentified and Unclaimed Remains
(a) The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner shall cremate unclaimed human remains and shall bury unidentified human remains from its facilities. (b) The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner, with the assistance of the city of Charleston, shall locate an appropriate cemetery. (c) Unidentified remains shall be buried after 6 months and after efforts […]
§61-12-16. Disposition of Unidentified or Unclaimed Remains Pursuant to Legislative Rule
The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner shall propose rules for legislative approval in accordance with the provisions of 29A-3-1 et seq. of this code which provide for the disposition of unidentified or unclaimed remains in the possession of the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner, in a manner which does not conflict with the […]
§61-12-8. Certain Deaths to Be Reported to Medical Examiners; Failure to Report Deaths; Investigations and Reports; Authority of Medical Examiners to Administer Oaths, etc., Fees
(a) When any person dies in this state from violence, or by apparent suicide, or suddenly when in apparent good health, or when unattended by a physician, or when an inmate of a public institution, or from some disease which might constitute a threat to public health, or in any suspicious, unusual or unnatural manner, […]
§61-12-9. Permits Required for Cremation; Fee
(a) It is the duty of any person cremating, or causing or requesting the cremation of, the body of any dead person who died in this state, to secure a permit for the cremation from the Chief Medical Examiner, the county medical examiner or county coroner of the county wherein the death occurred. Any person […]
§61-12-10. When Autopsies Made and by Whom Performed; Records of Date Investigated; Copies of Records and Information; Reporting Requirements
(a) If in the opinion of the chief medical examiner, or of the county medical examiner of the county in which the death in question occurred, it is advisable and in the public interest that an autopsy be made, or if an autopsy is requested by either the prosecuting attorney or the judge of the […]
§61-12-10a. Costs of Transportation of Bodies; When State Will Pay; Amount of Payment
Whenever an examination of a body is ordered pursuant to 61-12-8 and 61-12-10 of this code and the body of the deceased is transported to the central laboratory or other place of examination, the reasonable cost of the transportation shall be paid by the state out of funds appropriated to or for the use of […]
§61-12-11. Exhumation; When Ordered
If, in any case of sudden, violent or suspicious death, the body is buried without any investigation by the chief medical examiner, or by a county medical examiner or coroner, it is the duty of the chief medical examiner or the county medical examiner or coroner, upon being advised of this fact, to notify the […]
§61-12-12. Facilities and Services Available to Medical Examiners
Pursuant to rules promulgated by the Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Resources, the facilities of the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner and its laboratory, and the services of its professional staff, shall be made available to the county medical examiners and coroners in their investigations under the provisions of 61-12-8 of […]
§61-12-13. Reports and Records Received as Evidence; Copies
Reports of investigations and autopsies, and the records thereof, on file in the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner or in the office of any county medical examiner, shall be received as evidence in any court or other proceeding, and copies of records, photographs, laboratory findings and records on file in the Office of the […]