Title 18, Title 18: Health

§ 5205. Death certificate when no attending physician and in other circumstances; autopsy (a) When a person dies from violence, or suddenly when in apparent good health or when unattended by a physician or a recognized practitioner of a well-established church, or by casualty, or…

§ 5206. Penalty for failure to submit report of death A licensed health care professional who fails to cause the medical portion of a report of death to be submitted within 24 hours after the death of a person, containing a true statement of the cause of such death, so far as the…

§ 5207. Certificate furnished family; burial-transit permit Within 24 hours after death, the death certificate shall be made available upon request to the family of the deceased, if any, or the undertaker or person who has charge of the body. The certificate shall be filed with t…

§ 5208. Department of Health; report on statistics (a) Notwithstanding the provisions of 2 V.S.A. § 20(d), beginning October 1, 2011 and every two years thereafter, the Vermont Department of Health shall report to the House Committees on Human Services and on Health Care and the …

§ 5209. Death out of State; burial permit Whenever a dead body is brought into this State for burial or entombment accompanied by a removal permit issued under the laws of the state from which such body is brought, such permit shall be received as sufficient authority for burial;…

§ 5210. Form of burial or removal permit If it is desired to bury, entomb, or otherwise dispose of a dead body within the limits of a town where the death occurred, the certificate of permission shall state plainly the time, place, and manner of such burial, entombment, or dispos…

§ 5211. Unauthorized burial or removal; penalty A person who buries, entombs, transports, or removes the dead body of a person without a burial-transit permit so to do, or in any other manner or at any other time or place than as specified in such permit, shall be subject to a ci…

§ 5212. Permit to remove dead bodies (a) A person desirous of disinterring or removing the body of a human being from one cemetery to another cemetery or to another part of the same cemetery or from a tomb or receiving vault elsewhere shall apply to the clerk of the municipality …

§ 5212a. Removal; objections (a) Unless removal is otherwise authorized by law, a spouse, child, parent, or sibling of the deceased may, within 30 days after the date notice was last published under section 5212 of this title, object to the proposed removal by filing a complaint …

§ 5212b. Unmarked Burial Sites Special Fund; reporting of unmarked burial sites (a) The Unmarked Burial Sites Special Fund is established in the State Treasury for the purpose of protecting, preserving, moving, or reinterring human remains discovered in unmarked burial sites. (b)…

§ 5213. Removal; form and disposition of permit Such permit shall state specifically the location of the body’s permanent disposition and the time and manner of its removal. A town clerk issuing such a permit shall make it in duplicate if the body is to be removed from the town, …

§ 5214. Duties of sexton; no burial or removal without permit A sexton or other person having the care of a cemetery, tomb, or receiving vault shall not receive or permit the burial or entombment of a dead body, or the remains of a dead body, in the cemetery or tomb of which he o…

§ 5215. Burial returns A sexton or other person having charge of a cemetery, tomb, or receiving vault, during the first week of each month, shall deliver to the clerk of the town in which such cemetery, tomb, or vault is located the burial-transit and removal permits, properly ce…

§ 5216. Penalty A sexton or other person having charge of a cemetery, tomb, or receiving vault who violates a provision of sections 5214 and 5215 of this title shall be fined not more than $500.00 nor less than $20.00.

§ 5217. Removal of marked historic remains (a) As used in this section: (1) “Historic remains” means remains of a human being who has been deceased for 100 years or more, and the remains are marked and located in a publicly known or marked burial ground or cemetery. (2) “Public g…

§ 5218. Determination of death An individual who has sustained either irreversible cessation of all functions of the entire brain, including the brain stem, or irreversible cessation of circulatory and respiratory functions is dead. A determination of death must be in accordance …

§ 5219. Persons missing and presumed dead; issuance of presumptive death certificate (a) On application of a spouse, parent, child, or other near relative, the Probate Division of the Superior Court may direct the Chief Medical Examiner to complete and sign a certificate of presu…

§ 5221. Definition As used in this subchapter, “fetal death” means a death prior to the complete expulsion or extraction from the mother of a product of conception; the death is indicated by the fact that after such separation, the fetus does not breathe or show any other evidenc…

§ 5222. Reports (a)(1) The following fetal deaths shall be reported by the hospital, licensed health care professional, or funeral director directly to the Commissioner within seven days after delivery on forms prescribed by the Department: (A) All fetal deaths of 20 or more week…

§ 5223. Unidentified fetus A medical examiner shall investigate an unidentified fetus and shall prepare and file a report. If it cannot otherwise be determined, the place where the fetus was found shall be entered as place of fetal death. (Added 1973, No. 99, § 1.)

§ 5224. Disposition of remains; permits (a) Fetal remains shall be disposed of by burial, cremation, or natural organic reduction unless released to an educational institution for scientific purposes or disposed of by the hospital or as directed by the attending physician in a ma…

§ 5225. Penalty A person who violates a provision of this subchapter, unless another penalty is otherwise provided, shall be fined not more than $500.00. (Added 1973, No. 99, § 1.)

§ 5226. Definitions As used in this subchapter: (1) “Estranged” means a physical and emotional separation from the decedent at the time of death, which has existed for a period of time that demonstrates an absence of affection, trust, and regard for the decedent. (2) “Near relati…

§ 5227. Right to disposition (a) If there is no written directive of the decedent, in the following order of priority, one or more competent adults shall have the right to determine the disposition of the remains of a decedent, including the location, manner, and conditions of di…

§ 5228. Forfeiture An individual recognized under section 5227 of this title to have a right of disposition shall forfeit that right in the following circumstances: (1) the individual is identified by a law enforcement agency as a person of interest and likely to be prosecuted or…

§ 5229. Cost of disposition The cost for the disposition of remains and funeral goods or services shall be borne by the decedent’s estate, subject to the limits for insolvent estates imposed by 14 V.S.A. § 1205, or by any individual who agrees to pay the costs. Nothing in this su…

§ 5230. Rights of funeral director or operator of a disposition facility A funeral director or disposition facility operator may determine the permanent disposition of remains and may file a civil action in Probate Division of the Superior Court against a person, estate, banking …

§ 5231. Civil action (a) Any individual who is a near relative of the decedent or the custodian of the decedent’s remains may file an action in the Probate Division of the Superior Court requesting the court to appoint an individual to make decisions regarding the disposition of …

§ 5232. Procedures generally (a) Any action filed under this subchapter shall be summary in nature, and a hearing shall be held as soon as practicable. The Probate Division of the Superior Court may order interim, ex parte relief based on available information. In extraordinary c…

§ 5233. Limited liability A funeral director or disposition facility operator shall not be subject to civil liability or subject to disciplinary action for carrying out the disposition of the remains if he or she relied in good faith on a funeral service contract or authorization…

§ 5234. Organ Donation Special Fund There is created the Organ Donation Special Fund, which shall be a special fund established and managed pursuant to 32 V.S.A. chapter 7, subchapter 5. The Organ Donation Special Fund shall consist of any federal funds, grants, and private donat…