PRINTER'S NO. 1408
No. 1220 Session of 1989
INTRODUCED BY GAMBLE, FOSTER, DOMBROWSKI, BARLEY, BATTISTO,
BOYES, BROUJOS, CAPPABIANCA, 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 July 28, 1953 (P.L.723, No.230), entitled,
2 as amended, "An act relating to counties of the second class
3 and second class A; amending, revising, consolidating and
4 changing the laws relating thereto," further providing for
5 the powers and duties of the coroner; and making an editorial
6 change.
7 The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
8 hereby enacts as follows:
9 Section 1. The act of July 28, 1953 (P.L.723, No.230), known
10 as the Second Class County Code, is amended by adding a section
11 to read:
12 Section 1235.1. Requests for Examinations and Reports.--(a)
13 Requests for examinations or other professional services by
14 other counties or persons may be complied with at the discretion
15 of the coroner pursuant to guidelines established by the county
16 commissioners.
17 (b) A set of fees and charges for such examinations or
18 professional services shall be established by the coroner,
19 subject to approval by the county commissioners, and shall be
1 accounted for and paid to the county treasurer pursuant to
2 section 1960. Payment for examinations or professional services
3 shall be the responsibility of the county or person requesting
4 such services.
5 (c) The coroner may charge and collect a fee of up to one
6 hundred dollars ($100) for each autopsy report, up to fifty
7 dollars ($50) for each toxicology report, up to fifty dollars
8 ($50) for each inquisition or coroner's report and such other
9 fees as may be established from time to time for other reports
10 and documents requested by nongovernmental agencies. The fees
11 collected shall be accounted for and paid to the county
12 treasurer pursuant to section 1960 and shall be used to defray
13 the expenses involved in the county complying with the
14 provisions of the act of March 2, 1988 (P.L.108, No.22),
15 referred to as the Coroners' Education Board Law.
16 Section 2. Sections 1236, 1237, 1238, 1239 and 1243 of the
17 act are amended to read:
18 Section 1236. Coroner's Investigations.--(a) The coroner
19 having a view of the body shall investigate the facts and
20 circumstances concerning deaths which appear to have happened
21 within the county, regardless where the cause thereof may have
22 occurred, for the purpose of determining whether or not an
23 autopsy should be conducted or an inquest thereof shall be had,
24 in the following cases: [(1) Any sudden, as hereafter defined,
25 violent or suspicious death, (2) any death wherein no cause of
26 death is properly certified by a person duly authorized thereof,
27 (3) any death resulting from a mine accident, as directed by
28 law, (4) deaths resulting from drownings, cave-ins and
29 subsidences, (5) any stillbirth, or the death of any baby dying
30 within twenty-four hours after its birth, and, in addition
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1 thereto, (6) the death of any prematurely born infant, wherein
2 the cause of death is not properly certified by a person duly
3 authorized thereto.
4 The purpose of the investigation shall be to determine
5 whether or not there is any reason sufficient to the coroner to
6 believe that any such death may have resulted from the criminal
7 acts or criminal neglect of persons other than the deceased,
8 rather than from natural causes or by suicide.]
9 (1) sudden deaths not caused by readily recognizable
10 disease, or wherein the case of death cannot be properly
11 certified by a physician on the basis or prior (recent) medical
12 attendance;
13 (2) deaths occurring under suspicious circumstances,
14 including those where alcohol, drugs or other toxic substances
15 may have had a direct bearing on the outcome;
16 (3) deaths occurring as a result of violence or trauma,
17 whether apparently homicidal, suicidal or accidental (including,
18 but not limited to, those due to mechanical, thermal, chemical,
19 electrical or radiational injury, drowning, cave-ins and
20 subsidences);
21 (4) any death in which trauma, chemical injury, drug
22 overdose or reaction to drugs or medication or medical
23 treatment, was a primary or secondary, direct or indirect,
24 contributory, aggravating or precipitating cause of death;
25 (5) operative and peri-operative deaths in which the death
26 is not readily explainable on the basis of prior disease;
27 (6) any death wherein the body is unidentified or unclaimed;
28 (7) deaths known or suspected as due to contagious disease
29 and constituting a public hazard;
30 (8) deaths occurring in prison, a penal institution or while
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1 in the custody of the police;
2 (9) deaths of persons whose bodies are to be cremated,
3 buried at sea or otherwise disposed of so as to be thereafter
4 unavailable for examination;
5 (10) sudden infant death syndrome; and
6 (11) stillbirths.
7 (b) The purpose of the investigation shall be to determine
8 the cause of any such death and to determine whether or not
9 there is sufficient reason for the coroner to believe that any
10 such death may have resulted from criminal acts or criminal
11 neglect of persons other than the deceased.
12 (c) As part of this investigation the coroner shall
13 determine the identity of the deceased and notify the next of
14 kin of the deceased.
15 Section 1237. [Inquest; Autopsy; Coroner's Duties;
16 Records.--If, upon the investigation by the coroner, he shall
17 not be satisfied thereby that the death resulted from natural
18 causes or by suicide, he shall proceed to conduct an inquest
19 upon a view of the body, as provided by law. In the conduct of
20 the inquest, the coroner may require such an autopsy as may be
21 necessary, in accordance with law. At the inquest, the coroner's
22 duty shall be to ascertain the cause of death and whether any
23 person other than the deceased was criminally responsible
24 therefor by act or neglect, and if so, the identity of the
25 person, and any further evidence and witnesses regarding the
26 crime. The proceedings at the inquest shall be recorded, at the
27 expense of the county, in a manner to be provided by the county
28 commissioners, and any salary that may be required for this
29 purpose shall be fixed by the salary board.] Autopsy; Inquest;
30 Records.--(a) If, upon investigation, the coroner shall be
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1 unable to determine the cause and manner of death, he shall
2 perform or order an autopsy on the body.
3 (b) If the coroner is unable to determine the cause and
4 manner of death following the autopsy, he may conduct an inquest
5 upon a view of the body, as provided by law. At the inquest, the
6 coroner's duty shall be to ascertain the cause of death, to
7 determine whether any person other than the deceased was
8 criminally responsible therefor by act or neglect, and if so,
9 the identity of the person, and to examine any further evidence
10 and witnesses regarding the cause of death.
11 (c) The proceedings at the inquest shall be recorded, at the
12 expense of the county, in a manner to be provided by the county
13 commissioners.
14 Section 1238. Sudden Deaths Defined.--The coroner shall
15 regard any death as sudden if it occurs without prior medical
16 attendance by a person who may lawfully execute a certificate of
17 death in this Commonwealth, or if, within twenty-four hours of
18 death, the decedent was discharged from such medical attendance
19 or a change of such medical attendance had occurred, or if any
20 such medical attendance began within twenty-four hours of death
21 and the medical attendant refuses or is unable to certify the
22 cause of death. Medical attendance includes hospitalization.
23 The provisions of this section shall not be construed to
24 affect the coroner's discretion as to whether or not any death
25 was suspicious, nor shall they be construed to authorize a
26 coroner to investigate a sudden death any further than necessary
27 to [convince him that the death was from natural causes and not
28 from any criminal act or neglect or another] determine the cause
29 and manner of death.
30 Section 1239. Bodies Not to be Moved.--In all cases where
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1 the coroner has jurisdiction to investigate the facts and
2 circumstances of death, the body and its surroundings shall be
3 left untouched until the coroner has had a view thereof [and] or
4 until he shall otherwise direct or authorize, except as may be
5 otherwise provided by law, or as circumstances may require.
6 Bodies upon a public thoroughfare or in other places may be
7 removed so much as is necessary for precaution against traffic
8 accidents or other serious consequences which might reasonably
9 be anticipated if they were left intact.
10 Section 1243. Power of Subpoena and Attachment.--The coroner
11 shall have power to issue subpoenas to obtain the attendance of
12 any person whom it may be necessary to examine as a witness at
13 any inquest, and to compel attendance by attachment in like
14 manner and to the same extent as any court of [oyer and terminer
15 and general jail delivery] common pleas of this Commonwealth may
16 or can do in cases pending before them, and also to compel in
17 like manner the production of all papers and other things
18 relative to such inquest. Such subpoena and attachment shall be
19 served and executed by the sheriff or by the coroner himself or
20 his deputy, as the case may require.
21 Section 3. The act is amended by adding sections to read:
22 Section 1243.1. Inquests; Juries.--(a) The coroner may at
23 his discretion summon a jury of six to be selected from the jury
24 panel in the criminal division, court of common pleas.
25 (b) The function of such jury shall be to determine the
26 manner of death and whether any criminal act or neglect of
27 persons known or unknown caused such death. Such jury shall be
28 paid as provided by law as if they were serving the court of
29 common pleas.
30 Section 1250. Pituitary Glands.--(a) The coroner performing
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1 an autopsy otherwise authorized by law may remove the pituitary
2 gland of the decedent and dispose of it pursuant to subsection
3 (b) if:
4 (1) the decedent by his will or other document authorizes
5 the removal; or
6 (2) any of the persons listed in 20 Pa.C.S. § 8602(b)
7 (relating to persons who may execute an anatomical gift)
8 authorizes its removal and no person in a higher class, as
9 provided in 20 Pa.C.S. § 8602(b), overrules the person's
10 permission.
11 The pituitary glands may not be removed, as provided for in this
12 section, if the removal would interfere in any way with an
13 anatomical gift made pursuant to 20 Pa.C.S. Ch. 86 (relating to
14 anatomical gifts).
15 (b) Pituitary glands removed pursuant to this section shall
16 be delivered to the National Pituitary Agency for use in
17 research and manufacturing of hormones necessary for the
18 physical growth of hypopituitary dwarfs, or to such other agency
19 or organization for similar purposes as authorized by the
20 Humanity Gifts Registry.
21 (c) Any moneys payable for the delivery of pituitary glands
22 as provided in subsection (b) may be waived by the coroner. If
23 such moneys are not waived, the proceeds shall be payable
24 directly to the county treasury and no officer or employe of the
25 coroner's office shall receive any compensation for such removal
26 or disposition except the salaries or fees otherwise payable by
27 law.
28 (d) Nothing in this section shall be construed to prohibit
29 or regulate the removal of pituitary glands when such removal is
30 deemed necessary for the purposes of the autopsy.
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1 Section 1251. Anatomical Gifts.--The coroner may order the
2 removal of parts of a decedent's body for donation purposes in
3 accordance with 20 Pa.C.S. Ch. 86 (relating to anatomical
4 gifts).
5 Section 4. This act shall take effect in 60 days.
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