Circumstances For Autopsy?

[weebeasties]

My brother-in-law recently passed away. His girlfriend had been unable to reach him by phone, so broke into his house and found his body. He was 51. They are not doing an autopsy. I thought they always did one to determine the cause of death. Is that incorrect?
I don't think there was foul play involved at all. I was just thinking that if it was a hereditary medical condition, the rest of the family would want to know. Everyone seems to be content saying that it must have been a heart attack, even though he had no previous indication of heart disease. Is this weird?

 

[Kat0121]

I think so. I was also under the impression that unless it was clearly obvious what happened that an autopsy is done and sometimes they do one anyway especially if the person passed away at home. That's what happened when my DH passed away at home.

 

[Willowy]

Hmm, yeah, when a family friend died from a clear accident, they said that any death not attended by a medical professional requires an autopsy. So that's odd. It probably varies by state though.

 

[Kat0121]

Hmm, yeah, when a family friend died from a clear accident, they said that any death not attended by a medical professional requires an autopsy. So that's odd. It probably varies by state though.

That's probably true about the law varying state by state.

 

[weebeasties]

I'm not experienced with things like this but I keep thinking that there has to be a death certificate and that somewhere on the certificate they list a cause of death. It's not like they can just put an emoji there.
I guess it is pointless to question since the family is comfortable not knowing the cause. The whole thing just seems odd to me.

 

[denice]

It varies by state. My mother died at home in Kansas and an autopsy wasn't required. In Kansas if someone is under the care of a physician and has chronic medical conditions an autopsy isn't required.

 

[Willowy]

In Kansas if someone is under the care of a physician and has chronic medical conditions an autopsy isn't required.

Well, yeah, that too (I suppose it falls under the category of being "attended" by a medical professional because it's a known cause). Was he diagnosed with heart problems? If so, that could maybe be considered a known cause (oops, re-read the OP, no diagnosis).

 

[NY cat man]

In New York, an autopsy is required whenever there is an unattended death. This was the case when my father-in-law died from a heart attack at his home. Because there was no MD in attendance, an autopsy had to be performed.

 

[babiesmom5]

First off, my condolences on your brother in law. You are right in thinking that if it was due to a hereditary condition, the family would want to know.

Our family faced a similar situation in Florida. My mother-in law went into the hospital for a relatively routine (not major) medical procedure. All went well in the procedure, she was up and about; she stayed overnight and came home the following day. Family spoke to her; friends saw her; everything fine.

That afternoon, a neighbor found her dead in bed. The coroner was called. After a thorough examination of her, the coroner stated that, "because she died of causes unlikely to be criminally related", no autopsy would be conducted according to Florida state law. The death certificate would then read "death due to natural causes".

He did state, however, that the family may pursue an autopsy on their own if they wish to learn the exact cause of death. Since her death occurred so soon after a medical procedure, family questioned if it may have been due to a medical error.

So the family on their own hired a pathologist to conduct an autopsy. I can tell you it was not cheap.
It was however, very thorough and revealing.

The cause of death was determined to be severe heart disease. She layed down and had a heart attack.

This information allayed our fears of a medical error, but most importantly, it provided important information for her family to make diet and lifestyle changes while they still can. And it helped provide closure.

 

[Lari]

Also, if it's something like a blood clot that caused it, those can be genetic as well, and it's good to be aware if you're more at risk.

I'd, personally, want an autopsy.