1. A county medical examiner shall be appointed by the board for a two-year term. The
term of office shall commence on the first day in January which is not a Sunday or holiday
and continue for two years or until a successor is appointed and qualifies as provided in this
section. A vacancy shall be filled by the board for the unexpired term.
2. Toserveasacountymedicalexaminerapersonshallbelicensedinthisstateasadoctor
of medicine and surgery, a doctor of osteopathic medicine and surgery, or an osteopathic
physician. The medical examiner shall be appointed by the board from lists of two or more
names submitted by the medical society and the osteopathic society of the county in which
the candidate resides. If names are not submitted by either society, the board may appoint
any licensed physician, osteopathic physician and surgeon, or osteopathic physician of the
county. Ifaqualifiedphysicianofthecountywillnotserve, theboardmayappointaphysician
from another county. If a county medical examiner is unable to serve in a particular case or
for a period of time, the medical examiner shall promptly notify the chairperson of the board
who shall designate some other qualified physician to serve temporarily.
3. The board may provide laboratory facilities, deputy medical examiners, and other
professional, technical and clerical assistance as required by the county medical examiner
in the performance of official duties. However, the requirements shall be subject to prior
approval by the state medical examiner.
1. [C62, 66, 71, 73, 75, 77, 79, 81, §339.1; S81, §331.801(1); 81 Acts, ch 117, §800, 805]
2. [C51, §201, 202; R60, §411, 412; C73, §367, 368; C97, §528, 529; C24, 27, 31, 35, 39,
§5217, 5218; C46, 50, 54, 58, §339.21, 339.22; C62, 66, 71, 73, 75, 77, 79, 81, §339.2; S81,
§331.801(2); 81 Acts, ch 117, §800]
3. [S13, §520; C24, 27, 31, 35, 39, §5206; C46, 50, 54, 58, §339.9; C62, 66, §339.8; C71, 73,
75, 77, 79, 81, §339.3; S81, §331.801(3); 81 Acts, ch 117, §800]
Referredtoin§124.553, 141A.5, 142C.2, 331.321
331.802 Deaths — reported and investigated.
1. A person’s death that affects the public interest as specified in subsection 3 shall be
reported to the county medical examiner or the state medical examiner by the physician in
attendance, any law enforcement officer having knowledge of the death, the funeral director,
or any other person present. The appropriate medical examiner shall notify the city or state
law enforcement agency or sheriff and take charge of the body.
2. a. If a person’s death affects the public interest as specified in subsection 3, the county
medicalexaminershallconductapreliminaryinvestigationofthecauseandmannerofdeath,
prepare a written report of the findings, promptly submit the full report to the state medical
examiner on forms prescribed for that purpose, and submit a copy of the report to the county
attorney.
b. (1) Except as provided in section 218.64 or as otherwise provided by law, for each
preliminary investigation and the preparation and submission of the required reports, the
county medical examiner and medical examiner investigator shall receive from the county
of appointment or the decedent’s county of residence a fee determined by the board of the
county of appointment plus the examiner’s and investigator’s actual expenses.
(2) The fee and expenses shall be submitted by the county medical examiner and the
medical examiner investigator as a joint invoice to the county of appointment which may
immediately pay the invoice. If the county of appointment pays the invoice, the county of
appointment shall seek reimbursement from the decedent’s county of residence.
(3) If the county of appointment elects not to pay an invoice under subparagraph (2), the
county shall forward the joint invoice to the decedent’s county of residence for payment to
the county medical examiner and the medical examiner investigator. If the county medical
examiner and medical examiner investigator do not receive payment from the county of
the decedent’s residence within sixty days of receiving the joint invoice, the county of
appointment shall pay the invoice.
(4) If the person’s death is caused by a defendant for whom a judgment of conviction
and sentence is rendered under section 707.2, 707.3, 707.4, 707.5, or 707.6A, the county of
the person’s residence or the county of appointment, as applicable, may recover from the
defendant the fee and expenses.
c. The fee and expenses of the county medical examiner who performs an autopsy
or conducts an investigation of a person who dies after being brought into this state for
emergency medical treatment by or at the direction of an out-of-state law enforcement
officer or public authority shall be paid by the state. A claim for payment shall be filed with
the state appeal board and, if authorized by the board, shall be paid out of moneys in the
general fund of the state not otherwise appropriated.
3. A death affecting the public interest includes, but is not limited to, any of the following:
a. Violent death, including homicide, suicide, or accidental death.
b. Death caused by thermal, chemical, electrical, or radiation injury.
c. Death caused by criminal abortion including self-induced, or by sexual abuse.
d. Death related to disease thought to be virulent or contagious which may constitute a
public hazard.
e. Death that has occurred unexpectedly or from an unexplained cause.
f. Death of a person confined in a prison, jail, or correctional institution.
g. Death of a person who was prediagnosed as a terminal or bedfast case who did not
haveaphysicianinattendancewithintheprecedingthirtydays; ordeathofapersonwhowas
admitted to and had received services from a hospice program as defined in section 135J.1, if
a physician or registered nurse employed by the program was not in attendance within thirty
days preceding death.
h. Death of a person if the body is not claimed by a person authorized to control the
deceased person’s remains under section 144C.5, or a friend.
i. Death of a person if the identity of the deceased is unknown.
j. Death of a child under the age of two years if death results from an unknown cause or
if the circumstances surrounding the death indicate that sudden infant death syndrome may
be the cause of death.
k. Death of a person committed or admitted to a state mental health institute, a state
resource center, or the state training school.
4. a. Thecountymedicalexaminershallconducttheinvestigationinthemannerrequired
by the state medical examiner and shall determine whether the public interest requires an
autopsyorotherspecialinvestigation. However, ifthedeathoccurredinthemannerspecified
in subsection 3, paragraph “j”, the county medical examiner shall order an autopsy, claims for
thepaymentofwhichshallbefiledwiththestateappealboardand,ifauthorizedbytheboard,
shall be paid out of moneys in the general fund of the state not otherwise appropriated. In
determining the need for an autopsy, the county medical examiner may consider the request
for an autopsy from a public official or private person, but the state medical examiner or the
county attorney of the county where the death occurred may require an autopsy except as
provided in paragraph “b”.
b. If after the county medical examiner’s or state medical examiner’s investigation of a
deceased child the medical examiner determines that the deceased child’s cause and manner
of death are obvious and there are no significant legal, medical, or investigative concerns by
the medical examiner, social services, or law enforcement, an autopsy shall not be required
under paragraph “a”.
c. The county medical examiner may refer a body for autopsy or further investigation
pursuant to paragraph “a” to any facility accredited by the national association of medical
examiners. The county shall pay to the receiving facility a fee equal to an autopsy fee
established by the office of the state medical examiner by rule.
5. a. A person making an autopsy shall promptly file a complete record of the findings in
the office of the state medical examiner and the county attorney of the county where death
occurred and the county attorney of the county where any injury contributing to or causing
the death was sustained.
b. A summary of the findings resulting from an autopsy of a child under the age of two
years whose death occurred in the manner specified in subsection 3, paragraph “j”, shall be
transmitted immediately by the physician who performed the autopsy to the county medical
examiner. The report shall be forwarded to the parent, guardian, or custodian of the child by
the county medical examiner or a designee of the county medical examiner, or through the
infant’s attending physician. A copy of the autopsy report filed with the county attorney shall
be available to the parents, guardian, or custodian upon request.
6. The report of an investigation made by the state medical examiner or a county medical
examiner and the record and report of an autopsy made under this section or chapter 691,
shall be received as evidence in any court or other proceedings, except that statements by
witnesses or other persons and conclusions on extraneous matters included in the report are
notadmissible. Thepersonpreparingareportorrecordgiveninevidencemaybesubpoenaed
as a witness in any civil or criminal case by any party to the cause. A copy of a record,
photograph, laboratory finding, or record in the office of the state medical examiner or any
medical examiner, when attested to by the state medical examiner or a staff member or the
medical examiner in whose office the record, photograph, or finding is filed, shall be received
as evidence in any court or other proceedings for any purpose for which the original could
be received without proof of the official character of the person whose name is signed to it.
7. In case of a sudden, violent, or suspicious death after which the body is buried without
an investigation or autopsy, the county medical examiner, upon being advised of the facts,
shall notify the county attorney. The county attorney shall apply for a court order requiring
the body to be exhumed in accordance with chapter 144. Upon receipt of the court order,
an autopsy shall be performed by a medical examiner or by a pathologist designated by the
medical examiner and the facts disclosed by the autopsy shall be communicated to the court
ordering the disinterment for appropriate action.
8. Wheredonationoftheremainsofthedeceasedtoamedicalschoolorsimilarinstitution
equipped with facilities to perform autopsies is provided by will or directed by the person
authorizedtocontrolthedeceasedperson’sremainsundersection144C.5, anyautopsyunder
this section shall be performed at the direction of the school or institution, and in such a
manner as to further the purpose of the donation, while serving the public interest.
9. If an autopsy is ordered under this section, the county shall reimburse the funeral
director for all costs associated with the transportation of the body to and from the facility
performing the autopsy at a rate equivalent to the rate of reimbursement allowed under the
standard mileage rate method for computation of business expenses pursuant to the Internal
Revenue Code at the time the transportation occurs plus any other associated fees.
1, 2. [C51, §186, 187, 202, 2539; R60, §396, 397, 412, 4148; C73, §352, 353, 368, 3799; C97,
§515, 517, 526, 529, 531; C24, 27, 31, 35, 39, §5200, 5202, 5214, 5218, 5237; C46, 50, 54, 58,
§339.3, 339.5, 339.17, 339.19, 339.22, 340.19; C62, 66, §339.5; C71, 73, 75, 77, 79, 81, §339.4;
S81, §331.802(1, 2); 81 Acts, ch 117, §801]
3. [C51, §186; R60, §396; C73, §352; C24, 27, 31, 35, 39, §5200, 5201; C46, 50, 54, 58,
§339.3, 339.4; C62, 66, §339.4; C71, 73, 75, 77, 79, 81, §339.6; S81, §331.802(3); 81 Acts, ch
117, §801]
4. [C71, 73, 75, 77, 79, 81, §339.7; S81, §331.802(4); 81 Acts, ch 117, §801]
5. [C51, §187, 188, 193; R60, §397, 398, 403; C73, §353, 354, 359; C97, §517, 518, 521; C24,
27, 31, 35, 39, §5202, 5203, 5208; C46, 50, 54, 58, §339.5, 339.6, 339.11; C62, 66, §339.6; C71,
73, 75, 77, 79, 81, §339.8; S81, §331.802(5); 81 Acts, ch 117, §801]
6. [C51, §190 – 192, 199; R60, §400 – 402, 409; C73, §356 – 358, 365; C97, S13, §520; C24,
27, 31, 35, 39, §5205, 5206; C46, 50, 54, 58, §339.8, 339.9; C62, 66, §339.9; C71, 73, 75, 77, 79,
81, §339.10; S81, §331.802(6); 81 Acts, ch 117, §801]
7. [C62, 66, §339.7; C71, 73, 75, 77, 79, 81, §339.14; S81, §331.802(7); 81 Acts, ch 117,
§801]
8. [S81, §331.802(8); 81 Acts, ch 117, §801]