When someone dies unnaturally, unexpectedly, and suddenly, an autopsy will be performed to uncover the cause of death. The family of the deceased, the police, and also a grand jury have the authority to perform an autopsy on a person, especially if the death leads to a murder.
After an autopsy is completely done, examiners will then create a report regarding the examination and autopsy so that medical facts regarding the cause of the person’s death will be found. And the report will be kept and given to the authorized parties.
Then, is an autopsy report available to the public? If anyone is allowed to access someone’s autopsy report, how to find it, and whether it can be gained online or not, Okay, here’s everything you can know about autopsy reports!
Can You Get Someone’s Autopsy Report?
When it comes to whether or not you can get someone’s autopsy report online, we must say “yes and maybe no.” Why?
Unlike the death certificates that are available online and you can get them by going to the Department of Vital Statistics, an autopsy report is not public record, so anyone cannot access it. Based on the Supreme Court decision, autopsy reports are not considered to be public records in the majority of the states.
A copy of the autopsy report can only be given to the legal decedent’s next of kin, the law enforcement agency that investigates the case, treating physicians, and also the attorney. And it can also be released to the court if the case is criminal.
Parties such as insurance agents and other interested parties are not permitted to get the autopsy report unless they submit a written request and can prove a clear interest in obtaining it.
So, you may be able to get someone’s autopsy report by requesting a form and explaining clearly what your relationship with the decedent was. If you’re denied, you can instead find the person’s death certificate. Even though it will only tell you the cause and manner of someone’s death, at least you know the cause of the death.
How to Find Someone’s Autopsy Report Online
If you happen to find someone’s autopsy report, you must have a clear goal as to why you deserve it. As we’ve mentioned earlier, if you’re not the decedent’s family members, closest relatives, or even interested parties in the case of the person’s death, you’ll not be permitted to get the autopsy report.
An autopsy report is usually available in the Medical Examiner’s Office or Medical Records Department in your state. Generally, the report will be available within 35 to 45 days after the autopsy is conducted. For some complex cases, it may take up to 90 days.
Before finding it, you may have to discover your state’s policy on autopsy reports since each state will have its own regulations regarding autopsy policies. And, some states also allow the decedent’s next of kin and an individual who has a legitimate interest to request an autopsy report online, which can be performed through the official website of your state’s Medical Examiner’s Office. While others only provide an autopsy report request via mail.
To request an autopsy report online, you may have to get the form first. And it is usually available on the official website of your state’s Medical Examiner Office or in the institution that keeps the person’s autopsy report.
First, visit the website of the Medical Examiner Office.
And we’ll give you an example of Nevada’s Medical Examiner and Forensic Services website for Washoe County. And the form will look like this:
Once you’ve completed the form, you can then click “Submit.”
If available, the autopsy record will be sent either via e-mail or mail. It’s important to note that the examination report usually takes between 10 and 12 weeks. The report will not be sent if there are further investigations or ongoing legal proceedings.
Depending on your state, you will be charged fees after the report has been completed. The fees for requesting an autopsy report can vary from state to state.
In Cook County, Illinois, the fees for each report are different, as follows:
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- Autopsy Reports: $50.00
- Miscellaneous Reports: $25.00
- Toxicology Reports: $25.00
- X-rays: $10.00 per x-ray
- Photos: $5.00 per photo.
- Histology slides: $10.00 per slide
How to Request an Autopsy Report by Mail
If the Medical Examiner’s Office in your state doesn’t provide the request form online, you can make a request for an autopsy report via mail. In the mail, you may need to provide:
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- A written request—the form can usually be found on the website of the medical examiner’s office and/or coroner’s office in your state.
- Your full name, address, and phone number
- The decedent’s name
- The decedent’s date of death
- The county where the death occurred
- Statement regarding your relationship to the decedent
And, you can send the request to the Medical Examiner’s Office mailing address or the institution that keeps the person’s autopsy report.
Can You Get an Autopsy Report in Person?
Some states, like Maryland, allow the decedent’s next of kin and the parties who have a legitimate interest to see the autopsy report in person. In order to read and review the report, you’ll have to make an appointment first at the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner, Maryland.
If you only see the autopsy report, you’ll not be charged, but if you want to take a copy of the report, you must pay for it. Even though most autopsy reports are provided for free to the next of kin and other legitimate parties, in Maryland, it requires a fee for a complete and detailed autopsy report. And it costs about $30 for family members.
How Does the Autopsy Report Reveal Someone’s Cause of Death?
An autopsy, also known as a post-mortem, is a series of surgical procedures on the decedent’s body with the aim of finding out the cause of the person’s death. The majority of autopsies will take between two and four hours, depending on the type of autopsy, whether it is an external or internal autopsy.
The autopsy is usually performed because the death was considered suspicious, like the possibility of murder, suicide, or a car incident. However, if the cause of death was due to an obvious cause, an autopsy will not be conducted.
The autopsy must be performed by qualified forensic pathologists with the approval of police officials and the decedent’s next of kin. If there are parties who obstruct the autopsy on someone who dies unnaturally, they will be suspected and may be involved in the person’s death.
After the autopsy is completed, the pathologist will create a report that contains valuable information regarding how someone died. But the autopsy report doesn’t provide a series of plots about whether the person’s death is a criminal act.
An autopsy report usually contains three parts, including:
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- Coroner’s report includes basic facts about the person who has died, what a funeral home is, the person’s next of kin, and the cause and manner of death.
- The examination report reveals detailed information on every finding from the autopsy, which outlines all wounds on the body, both internal and external, as well as information on the organs in the body.
- The toxicology report reveals whether or not any substances were found on the decedent’s body, such as alcohol or drugs.
Since the autopsy report actually shows how someone died—including how many gunshots or stab wounds injured the person, what parts of the body were damaged, or how the bullet penetrated his body—it can really help the police collect the evidence, carry out further investigation, and also infer how an incident occurred.
But generally, the autopsy report doesn’t indicate the order in which injuries occurred to the person. It only shows the number and location of wounds on the decedent’s body. In some cases, the order of injuries may be determined based on the amount of bleeding that may or may not occur from the injury.
A forensic pathologist will classify the causes of death in general as five ways of death, including:
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- Accident
- Natural causes
- Homicide
- Suicide
- Undetermined
Well, the cause of a person’s death is what caused the person to die, for example, a gunshot wound, a stab wound, or acute narcotic poisoning.
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