§ 5-100

Written notice of the death of a recipient of services which occurs at a mental health or developmental disabilities facility, or the death of a recipient of services who has not been discharged from a mental health or developmental disabilities facility but whose death occurs elsewhere, shall within 10 days of the death of a recipient be mailed to the Department of Public Health which, for the primary purpose of monitoring patterns of abuse and neglect of recipients of services, shall make such notices available to the Guardianship and Advocacy Commission and to the agency designated by the Governor under Section 1 of "An Act in relation to the protection and advocacy of the rights of persons with developmental disabilities, and amending Acts therein named", approved September 20, 1985. Such notice shall include the name of the recipient, the name and address of the facility at which the death occurred, the recipient's age, the nature of the recipient's condition, including any evidence of the previous injuries or disabilities, or relevant medical conditions or any other information which might be helpful in establishing the cause of death. Written notice of the death of a recipient of services who was admitted by court order, and the cause thereof shall, in all cases, be mailed by the facility director to the court entering the original admission order, and if possible, to the same judge, and the time, place and alleged cause of such death shall be entered upon the docket. Such notice must be mailed within 10 days following the death of the recipient. In the event of a sudden or mysterious death of any recipient of services at any public or private facility, a coroner's inquest shall be held as provided by law in other cases. In cases where the deceased person was a recipient or client of any state facility, and the fees for holding an inquest cannot be collected out of his estate, such fees shall be paid by the Department.

Legislative History

(Source: P.A. 88-380.)