PRINTER'S NO. 1409
No. 1221 Session of 1989
INTRODUCED BY DOMBROWSKI, FOSTER, GAMBLE, CAPPABIANCA, BATTISTO,
BARLEY, BOYES, BROUJOS, COLAIZZO, DeLUCA, LAUGHLIN, MERRY,
NAHILL, NAILOR, NOYE, PRESSMANN, ROBBINS, SCHEETZ AND
D. W. SNYDER, APRIL 19, 1989
REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON LOCAL GOVERNMENT, APRIL 19, 1989
AN ACT
1 Amending the act of August 9, 1955 (P.L.323, No.130), entitled
2 "An act relating to counties of the third, fourth, fifth,
3 sixth, seventh and eighth classes; amending, revising,
4 consolidating and changing the laws relating thereto,"
5 further providing for ambulances and coroners; and making an
6 editorial change.
7 The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
8 hereby enacts as follows:
9 Section 1. Section 1234 of the act of August 9, 1955
10 (P.L.323, No.130), known as The County Code, is amended to read:
11 Section 1234. Ambulance.--In each county [having a county
12 morgue], the county commissioners may furnish and maintain, from
13 the general funds of the county, an ambulance for the removal of
14 bodies of deceased persons to and from the morgue, and for the
15 burial of unclaimed bodies. The coroner may provide rules and
16 regulations for the use and maintenance of the ambulance.
17 Section 2. The act is amended by adding a section to read:
18 Section 1236.1. Requests for Examinations and Reports.--(a)
19 Requests for examinations or other professional services by
1 other counties or persons may be complied with at the discretion
2 of the coroner pursuant to guidelines established by the county
3 commissioners.
4 (b) A set of fees and charges for such examinations or
5 professional services shall be established by the coroner,
6 subject to approval by the county commissioners and shall be
7 accounted for and paid to the county treasurer pursuant to
8 section 1760. Payment for examinations or professional services
9 shall be the responsibility of the county or person requesting
10 such services.
11 (c) The coroner may charge and collect a fee of up to one
12 hundred dollars ($100) for each autopsy report, up to fifty
13 dollars ($50) for each toxicology report, up to fifty dollars
14 ($50) for each inquisition or coroner's report and such other
15 fees as may be established from time to time for other reports
16 and documents requested by nongovernmental agencies. The fees
17 collected shall be accounted for and paid to the county
18 treasurer pursuant to section 1760 and shall be used to defray
19 the expenses involved in the county complying with the
20 provisions of the act of March 2, 1988 (P.L.108, No.22),
21 referred to as the Coroners' Education Board Law.
22 Section 3. Sections 1237, 1238, 1239, 1240 and 1245 of the
23 act are amended to read:
24 Section 1237. Coroner's Investigations.--(a) The coroner
25 having a view of the body shall investigate the facts and
26 circumstances concerning deaths which appear to have happened
27 within the county, regardless where the cause thereof may have
28 occurred, for the purpose of determining whether or not an
29 autopsy should be conducted or an inquest thereof should be had,
30 in the following cases: [(1) Any sudden, as hereafter defined,
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1 violent or suspicious death, (2) any death wherein no cause of
2 death is properly certified by a person duly authorized
3 therefor, (3) any death resulting from a mine accident, as
4 directed by law, (4) deaths resulting from drownings, cave-ins
5 and subsidences, (5) any stillbirth, or the death of any baby
6 dying within twenty-four hours after its birth, and, in addition
7 thereto, (6) the death of any prematurely born infant, wherein
8 the cause of death is not properly certified by a person duly
9 authorized therefor.
10 The purpose of the investigation shall be to determine
11 whether or not there is any reason sufficient to the coroner to
12 believe that any such death may have resulted from the criminal
13 acts or criminal neglect of persons other than the deceased,
14 rather than from natural causes or by suicide.]
15 (1) sudden deaths not caused by readily recognizable
16 disease, or wherein the cause of death cannot be properly
17 certified by a physician on the basis of prior (recent) medical
18 attendance;
19 (2) deaths occurring under suspicious circumstances,
20 including those where alcohol, drugs or other toxic substances
21 may have had a direct bearing on the outcome;
22 (3) deaths occurring as a result of violence or trauma,
23 whether apparently homicidal, suicidal or accidental (including,
24 but not limited to, those due to mechanical, thermal, chemical,
25 electrical or radiational injury, drowning, cave-ins and
26 subsidences);
27 (4) any death in which trauma, chemical injury, drug
28 overdose or reaction to drugs or medication or medical
29 treatment, was a primary or secondary, direct or indirect,
30 contributory, aggravating or precipitating cause of death;
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1 (5) operative and peri-operative deaths in which the death
2 is not readily explainable on the basis of prior disease;
3 (6) any death wherein the body is unidentified or unclaimed;
4 (7) deaths known or suspected as due to contagious disease
5 and constituting a public hazard;
6 (8) deaths occurring in prison, a penal institution or while
7 in the custody of the police;
8 (9) deaths of persons whose bodies are to be cremated,
9 buried at sea or otherwise disposed of so as to be thereafter
10 unavailable for examination;
11 (10) sudden infant death syndrome; and
12 (11) stillbirths.
13 (b) The purpose of the investigation shall be to determine
14 the cause of any such death and to determine whether or not
15 there is sufficient reason for the coroner to believe that any
16 such death may have resulted from criminal acts or criminal
17 neglect of persons other than the deceased.
18 (c) As part of this investigation the coroner shall
19 determine the identity of the deceased and notify the next of
20 kin of the deceased.
21 Section 1238. [Inquest; Autopsy; Coroner's Duties;
22 Records.--If, upon the investigation by the coroner, he shall
23 not be satisfied thereby that the death resulted from natural
24 causes, or by suicide, he shall proceed to conduct an inquest
25 upon a view of the body as provided by law. In the conduct of
26 the inquest, the coroner may require such an autopsy as may be
27 necessary in accordance with law. At the inquest the coroner's
28 duty shall be to ascertain the cause of death and whether any
29 person other than the deceased was criminally responsible
30 therefor by act or neglect, and, if so, the identity of the
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1 person and any further evidence and witnesses regarding the
2 crime. The proceedings at the inquest shall be recorded, at the
3 expense of the county, in a manner to be provided by the county
4 commissioners, and any salary that may be required for this
5 purpose shall be fixed by the salary board.] Autopsy; Inquest;
6 Records.--(a) If, upon investigation, the coroner shall be
7 unable to determine the cause and manner of death, he shall
8 perform or order an autopsy on the body.
9 (b) If the coroner is unable to determine the cause and
10 manner of death following the autopsy, he may conduct an inquest
11 upon a view of the body, as provided by law. At the inquest, the
12 coroner's duty shall be to ascertain the cause of death, to
13 determine whether any person other than the deceased was
14 criminally responsible therefor by act or neglect, and if so,
15 the identity of the person, and to examine any further evidence
16 and witnesses regarding the cause of death.
17 (c) The proceedings at the inquest shall be recorded, at the
18 expense of the county, in a manner to be provided by the county
19 commissioners.
20 Section 1239. Sudden Deaths Defined.--The coroner shall
21 regard any death as sudden if it occurs without prior medical
22 attendance by a person who may lawfully execute a certificate of
23 death in this Commonwealth, or if, within twenty-four hours of
24 death, the decedent was discharged from such medical attendance
25 or a change of such medical attendance had occurred, or if any
26 such medical attendance began within twenty-four hours of death
27 and the medical attendant refuses or is unable to certify the
28 cause of death. Medical attendance includes hospitalization.
29 The provisions of this section shall not be construed to
30 affect the coroner's discretion as to whether or not any death
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1 was suspicious, nor shall they be construed to authorize a
2 coroner to investigate a sudden death any further than necessary
3 to [convince him that the death was from natural causes and not
4 from any criminal act or neglect of another] determine the cause
5 and manner of death.
6 Section 1240. Bodies not to be Moved.--In all cases where
7 the coroner has jurisdiction to investigate the facts and
8 circumstances of death, the body and its surroundings shall be
9 left untouched until the coroner has had a view thereof [and] or
10 until he shall otherwise direct or authorize, except as may be
11 otherwise provided by law, or as circumstances may require.
12 Bodies upon a public thoroughfare or in other places may be
13 removed so much as is necessary for precaution against traffic
14 accidents or other serious consequences which might reasonably
15 be anticipated if they were left intact.
16 Section 1245. Power of Subpoena and Attachment.--The coroner
17 shall have power to issue subpoenas to obtain the attendance of
18 any person whom it may be necessary to examine as a witness at
19 any inquest, and to compel attendance by attachment in like
20 manner and to the same extent as any court of [oyer and terminer
21 and general jail delivery] common pleas of this Commonwealth may
22 or can do in cases pending before them, and also to compel in
23 like manner the production of all papers and other things
24 relative to such inquest. Such subpoena and attachment shall be
25 served and executed by the sheriff or by the coroner himself or
26 his deputy, as the case may require.
27 Section 4. The act is amended by adding sections to read:
28 Section 1245.1. Inquests; Juries.--(a) The coroner may at
29 his discretion summon a jury of six to be selected from the jury
30 panel in the criminal division, court of common pleas.
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1 (b) The function of such jury shall be to determine the
2 manner of death and whether any criminal act or neglect of
3 persons known or unknown caused such death. Such jury shall be
4 paid as provided by law as if they were serving the court of
5 common pleas.
6 Section 1253. Pituitary Glands.--(a) The coroner performing
7 an autopsy otherwise authorized by law may remove the pituitary
8 gland of the decedent and dispose of it pursuant to subsection
9 (b) if:
10 (1) the decedent by his will or other document authorizes
11 the removal; or
12 (2) any of the persons listed in 20 Pa.C.S. § 8602(b)
13 (relating to persons who may execute an anatomical gift)
14 authorizes its removal and no person in a higher class, as
15 provided in 20 Pa.C.S. § 8602(b), overrules the person's
16 permission.
17 The pituitary glands may not be removed, as provided for in this
18 section, if the removal would interfere in any way with an
19 anatomical gift made pursuant to 20 Pa.C.S. Ch. 86 (relating to
20 anatomical gifts).
21 (b) Pituitary glands removed pursuant to this section shall
22 be delivered to the National Pituitary Agency for use in
23 research and manufacturing of hormones necessary for the
24 physical growth of hypopituitary dwarfs, or to such other agency
25 or organization for similar purposes as authorized by the
26 Humanity Gifts Registry.
27 (c) Any moneys payable for the delivery of pituitary glands
28 as provided in subsection (b) may be waived by the coroner. If
29 such moneys are not waived, the proceeds shall be payable
30 directly to the county treasury and no officer or employe of the
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1 coroner's office shall receive any compensation for such removal
2 or disposition except the salaries or fees otherwise payable by
3 law.
4 (d) Nothing in this section shall be construed to prohibit
5 or regulate the removal of pituitary glands when such removal is
6 deemed necessary for the purposes of the autopsy.
7 Section 1254. Anatomical Gifts.--The coroner may order the
8 removal of parts of a decedent's body for donation purposes in
9 accordance with 20 Pa.C.S. Ch. 86 (relating to anatomical
10 gifts).
11 Section 5. This act shall take effect in 60 days.
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