St Lucie County Medical Examiner (2024)

FAQs

Are autopsy reports public in Florida? ›

Medical Examiner case files are public record, 119.011(1)F.S. Any person may obtain a copy. Copies of autopsy reports are provided free to immediate next of kin (spouse, child,parent, sibling, grandparent, grandchildren).

The Medical Examiner differs from the Coroner in that a Coroner is usually associated with the Sheriff in most California Counties. The Coroner is usually not a physician, and is not trained in medicine, Forensic Medicine or Forensic Science.

The district medical examiner shall have the authority in any case coming under subsection (1) [investigated deaths] to perform, or have performed, whatever autopsies or laboratory examinations he or she deems necessary and in the public interest to determine the identification of or cause or manner of death of the ...

Florida is organized into 25 Medical Examiner districts. Each medical examiner district is headed by a district medical examiner. The contact address, phone and fax numbers and email addresses of each district medical examiner are listed below.

ORDER FROM FLORIDA BUREAU OF VITAL STATISTICS. The Bureau of Vital Statistics offers walk-in or mail-in services. To save time, download and complete the forms you need. The Bureau of Vital Statistics may be reached at (904) 359-6900, ext. 9000.

If the death is an out of hospital death and /or under suspicious circ*mstances, the Coroner will review the facts and MAY order an autopsy. This expense is paid for by the County. If, however the family is requesting an autopsy state statute states that the party requesting the autopsy is responsible for payment.

A post-mortem will be carried out as soon as possible, usually within 2 to 3 working days of a person's death. In some cases, it may be possible for it to take place within 24 hours. Depending upon when the examination is due to take place, you may be able to see the body before the post-mortem is carried out.

The classifications are natural, accident, suicide, homicide, undetermined, and pending. Only medical examiner's and coroners may use all of the manners of death.

Autopsy reports are usually completed within 60 days from the date of autopsy; however, there are cases which can take 90 days or longer depending on the complexity of the case.

In Florida, the cost of an autopsy that was ordered by a coroner or medical examiner will be covered by the county where the person died. As you can imagine, this comes as a relief for many families who otherwise may not be able to afford the procedure (most autopsies fall in the $2,000 – $5,000 range).

Why would a medical examiner not do an autopsy? ›

An autopsy is not generally necessary when the death is known to be the result of known medical conditions/diseases (ie, natural causes), adequate medical history exists, and there are no signs of foul play.

The Medical Examiner is a physician trained in forensic pathology who investigates violent, suspicious or unnatural deaths. The Medical Examiner has a duty to objectively determine the cause and manner of death in such cases and is assisted by law enforcement, forensic investigators and morgue personnel.

Once investigation is complete, Florida Medical Examiner records become public records and are available for public review ¹.

Becoming a medical examiner takes a substantial amount of work and schooling. They need to have a bachelor's degree, along with their MD (medical doctor) or DO (doctor of osteopathic medicine). They will need additional residency training in forensic pathology or a forensic pathology fellowship.

If you want an autopsy report, note the county where the individual lived and died. You can start by looking up the county or state medical examiner's office on the Internet. Write down its physical and mailing address. Usually, you can download the form from the government website.

Death Certificate General Information | Florida Department of Health in ... P.O. Box 5135 Tampa, Florida 33675-5135 General Death Certificate Information Death certificates are public record without cause of death.

All reports generated by the medical examiner (Medical Examiner's Report, Autopsy Report, and Toxicology Report) are available to the legal next of kin upon written request using the OCME Record Request Form for Legal Next of Kin on the record request page.

A court appointed Personal Representative of a deceased person has the legal right to obtain the decedent's records. Additionally, Florida law specifically provides that the person's next of kin has the right to obtain the decedent's medical records.