Chapter 38

Section 1. As used in this chapter, the following words shall, unless the context requires otherwise, have the following meanings:— ''Commission'', to the commission on medicolegal investigation, established by section one hundred and eighty-four of chapter six. ''Office'', the o…

Section 10. The court shall report in writing when, where, and by what means the person met his death, the person's name, if known, and all material circumstances attending the death, and the name, if known, of any person whose unlawful act or negligence appears to have contribut…

Section 11. If a person charged by an inquest report with the commission of a crime is at large, the district court, upon the request of the district attorney, shall forthwith issue process for such person's arrest, returnable before any court or magistrate having jurisdiction.

Section 12. No embalming fluid, or any substitute therefor, shall be injected into the body of any person whose death is being investigated by the office until authorization from a representative of the office has first been obtained.

Section 13. After investigation or examination by the office, the body shall be released to the person with the proper legal authority to receive it, including the surviving spouse, the next of kin, or any friend of the deceased, who shall have priority in the order named. If upo…

Section 14. A medical examiner or forensic investigator designated by the chief medical examiner shall, on payment of a fee as determined from time to time by the secretary of public safety, which shall be not less than $75, view the body and make personal inquiry concerning the …

Section 15. A medical examiner responding to the scene of a death shall take charge of any money or other personal property of the deceased found on or near the body, or may request the police department to do so. The medical examiner or police department shall, unless such money…

Section 16. (a) The chief medical examiner shall file a report with the Food and Drug Administration's MedWatch Program any time the determined cause of death of an individual was due solely to the ingestion of a schedule II through schedule VI, inclusive, controlled substance, u…

Section 2. There shall be an office of chief medical examiner under the supervision and control of the chief medical examiner, which shall be within the executive office of public safety. Costs and expenses of the office shall be paid by the commonwealth. The chief medical examin…

Section 2A. (a) As used in this section, the following words shall have the following meanings:- ''Child'', a person under the age of 18. ''Fatality'', any death of a child. ''Local team'', a local child fatality review team established pursuant to subsection (c). ''Near fatality…

Section 2B. In the case of the death of a child under the age of 2, the chief medical examiner shall review and approve: (i) the findings and report of the medical examiner performing the autopsy to determine the cause of death; and (ii) any change to the autopsy report.

Section 3. It shall be the duty of any person having knowledge of a death which occurs under the circumstances enumerated in this paragraph immediately to notify the office of the chief medical examiner, or the medical examiner designated to the location where the death has occur…

Section 4. Upon notification of a death in the circumstances enumerated in section three, the chief medical examiner or his designee shall carefully inquire into the cause and circumstances of the death. If, as a result of such inquiry, the chief medical examiner or such designee…

Section 4A. If, after making inquiry pursuant to section four, the medical examiner is of the opinion that death may have resulted from injuries sustained in a motor vehicle accident, and that the death occurred within four hours of such accident, that the deceased was the operat…

Section 5. All law enforcement officers, district medical examiners, hospitals and other medical facilities, and other state, county and local officials shall cooperate with the office of chief medical examiner in the investigation of medicolegal cases. The office of the chief me…

Section 6. (a) It shall be the duty of a person who discovers unmarked human remains, or who knowingly causes human remains to be disturbed through construction or agricultural activity, to immediately notify the office of the chief medical examiner. (b) The medical examiner shal…

Section 7. If, during the course of investigation, the medical examiner is of the opinion that the death may have been caused by the act or negligence of another, he shall at once notify the district attorney within whose district the deceased was found or, if such act or neglige…

Section 8. The chief medical examiner or his designee may request the attorney general or the district attorney to direct that an inquest be held. The attorney general or district attorney may, regardless of whether or not action has been taken by the office of the chief medical …

Section 9. If the court determines that the inquest relates to an accidental death upon a conveyance regulated by the department of telecommunications and energy, the court shall cause a transcript of the inquest proceedings, after review and written approval by the court, and th…