Santa Cruz — Reportable Deaths to Coroner

Source: https://shf.santacruzcountyca.gov/Portals/1/County/sheriff/formsdocs/2025%20Reportable%20Deaths%20to%20Coroner.pdf

COUNTY OF SANTA CRUZ CHRIS CLARK, SHERIFF-CORONER 5200 Soquel Ave Santa Cruz, CA 95062 (831) 454-7600 FAX: (831) 454-7604

REPORTABLE DEATHS TO CORONER

Government Code, State of California, Section 27491 and Health and Safety Code Section 102850, directs the Coroner to inquire into and determine the circumstances, manner and cause of the following deaths which are immediately reportable:

1 Unattended deaths (No physician in attendance or during the continued absence of the attending physician.) Also includes all deaths outside hospitals and nursing care facilities.

2 Wherein the deceased has not been attended by a physician in the 20 days prior to death.

3 Physician unable to state the cause of death (unwillingness does not apply). Includes all sudden, unexpected and unusual deaths and fetal deaths when the underlying cause is unknown

4 Known or suspected homicide.

5 Known or suspected suicide.

6 Involving any criminal action or suspicion of a criminal act (includes child and dependent adult negligence and abuse.)

7 Related to or following known or suspected self-induced or criminal abortion.

8 Associated with a known or alleged rape or crime against nature.

9 Following an accident or injury (primary or contributory.) Deaths known or suspected as resulting (in whole or in part) from or related to accident or injury, either old or recent.

10 Drowning, fire, hanging, gunshot, stabbing, cutting, starvation, exposure, alcoholism, drug addiction, strangulation, or aspiration.

11 Accidental poisoning (flood, chemical, drug, therapeutic agents.)

12 Occupational diseases or occupational hazards.

13 Known or suspected contagious disease and constituting a public hazard.

14 All deaths in operating rooms and all deaths where a patient has not fully recovered from an anesthetic, whether in surgery, recovery room or elsewhere.

15 In prison or while under sentence (includes all in-custody and police involved deaths.)

16 All deaths of unidentified persons.

17 All deaths of state hospital patients.

18 Suspected Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) deaths.

19 All deaths where the patient is comatose throughout the period of the physician's attendance (includes patients admitted to hospitals unresponsive and expire without regaining consciousness.)

20 All fetal deaths when gestation period is 20 weeks or longer.

21 All deaths where the decedent was in a hospital less than 24 hours.

SHF-469 (Revised 10/18)

LISTED BELOW ARE TYPES OF DEATHS ALONG WITH COMMENTS ON THOSE WHICH HAVE BEEN DIFFICULT TO EVALUATE.

1.Unattended deaths, (No physician in attendance 5. Known or suspected suicide. (Self-explanatory) 11. Accidental poisoning. (Food, chemical, drug, or during the continued absence of the attending therapeutic agents) (Self-explanatory) physician 6. Involving any criminal action or suspicion of criminal act. 12. Occupational diseases or occupational This includes all deaths which occur without the hazards. attendance of a physician. The Coroner’s Office will This would cover deaths under such circumstances proceed to conduct an investigation of the death. If, as to afford reasonable grounds to suspect that the Examples would be: Silicosis and other during or after the investigation, it is ascertained that death was caused by the criminal act of another. pneumoconiosis: radiation resulting from x-ray the death is due to natural causes and if there is an equipment; and injuries produced by changed in attending physician who is qualified and willing, the 7. Related to or following known or suspected atmospheric pressure such as with aviation or with Coroner will waive the case to the attending self-induced or criminal abortion. (Self- deep underground tunnels or in deep sea diving physician for his certification and signature and the explanatory) (Caisson Disease). custody of the body will be retained by the family for removal to a private mortuary of the family’s choice. 8. Associated with a known or alleged rape or 13. Known or suspected contagious disease and In order to qualify, the attending physician must have crime against nature. (Self-explanatory) constituting a public hazard. professionally seen the decedent during the 20 days prior to death. (see number 2 below) 9. Following an accident or injury. (Primary or If there was not sufficient time to diagnose and contributory) Deaths known or suspected as resulting confirm a case in the hospital, then the death should A patient in a hospital is always considered as being in whole or part from or related to accident or injury. be referred to the Coroner for decision. in attendance Either old or recent. All other deaths from a contagious disease will be Cases where the physician is unavailable for reasons This section covers a lot of ground and the key word reported to the Coroner’s Office of a vacation or when attending conventions, etc., the is following an injury or accident-of course this would Coroner’s Office should be called include any accident: traffic, at home, at work, etc. 14. All deaths in operating rooms and all deaths where a patient has not fully recovered from an It is not necessary that the physician attend the It would include such cases as where an elderly anesthetic whether in surgery, recovery room or patient for a period of 24 hours prior to the death in person would fall at home incurring a fracture of his elsewhere. order to sign the death certificate. On natural deaths, hip, then taken to the hospital, confined to a bed and a physician may be qualified to sign a death would later die of bronchopneumonia or any other This mainly applies to surgical operations performed certificate, provided he attended the patient for a natural cause. On the basis that had the individual for the purpose of alleviating or correcting natural sufficient time to properly diagnose the case and not fallen and fractured his femur with the fatal disease conditions and does not include illegal subsequent cause of death. If he only saw the consequences therefrom, he, it must be assumed, abortions of any type, illegal operations, or patient for a matter of minutes, but was able to would still be alive despite various infirmities, There operations performed because of complications determine the cause, he can certify the death and are certain cases obviously where, because of the following traumatic injury. (Traumatic injury cases sign the certificate. If a hospital as an administrative time lapse between the injury and death, that a great are covered in Section 9) Post-operative deaths policy of reporting cases to the Coroner when a deal of difficulty ensures when one attempts to should be reported to the Coroner’s Office for patient dies with 24 hours after admittance, the determine whether the death be attributed to the evaluation and discussion. Lacking a cause of death Coroner’s Office will discuss the case with the injury or whether it be a natural one in the aged such as in idiosyncrasy to an anesthetic agent, the attending physician, however, may not accept the person. A simple “rule of thumb” method is to Coroner’s Office will usually “waive” the case to the case for investigation. carefully investigate this type of case in response to attending physician for his certification and signature. the clinical course; for example, if the fracture 2. Wherein the deceased has not been attended occurred three months ago and the individual is not 15. In prison or while under sentence. by a physician in the 20 days p

carefully investigate this type of case in response to attending physician for his certification and signature.
the clinical course; for example, if the fracture

2. Wherein the deceased has not been attended occurred three months ago and the individual is not 15. In prison or while under sentence. by a physician in the 20 days prior to death. returned to ambulation, even in a limited sense, and (Self-explanatory) he dies suddenly, it would be a fair statement to list

The word attended means that the patient must have a death as natural rather than an accident one 16. All deaths of unidentified persons. been professionally seen by the physician. A relating to the previous treatment. It is not necessary telephone conversation between the physician and that the fracture be related to the immediate terminal Where a physician can qualify and certify the cause patient is not considered in attendance. cause of death. If it contributed to a degree, it may of death, the death of an unidentified person may not After the events and circumstances at the time of be shown as significant condition contributing, but not require a Coroner’s investigation as indicated in the death are investigated by the Coroner’s Office, the related to the terminal condition. If it is felt that the previous comments; however, the case should be Coroner or his Deputy may order an autopsy or may fracture did contribute, the Coroner’s Office must referred to the Coroner, so an attempt can be made consult with one qualified and licensed to practice make an investigation into the facts about how the to identify the remains and proper interment made as medicine and determine the cause of death, injury occurred. The actual wording for the cause of provided by the Health and Safety Code. providing such information affords clear grounds to death will either be determined by consultation with establish the correct medical cause of death. For the physician or by an autopsy. 17. All deaths of State hospital patients. example: a heart condition and the patient dies at (Self-explanatory) home. The doctor may give the cause of death from Spontaneous Pathological fractures do not need to his knowledge of the patient with the coroner signing be evaluated by the Coroner. 18. Suspected SIDS death. the certificate. Another example would be: a rest home patient who is routinely seen once a month but 10. Drowning, fire, hanging, gunshot, stabbing, These are unexpected deaths of apparent healthy, would die at a time when the doctor had not attended cutting, starvation, exposure; alcoholism, drug thriving infants. him during the prior twenty days. Cooperation and addiction, strangulation or aspiration. (Parts of consultation between the physician and the this section are self-explanatory) 19.Patients comatose throughout physician’s Coroner’s Office may provide the cause; however, it attendance. the doctor’s prior knowledge to the subject could not In respect to the question of certifying a death from be applied to the death, then an autopsy would be aspiration, whether it be accidental or not, is one of These deaths are reportable for evaluation by the performed by the Coroner’s Office. the most difficult problems in the field of forensic Coroner. In addition, the deaths of patients who are pathology. Aspiration pneumonia may be treated as admitted to hospitals unresponsive and have not 3. Physician unable to state the cause of death. a natural death, and therefore proper for the private regained consciousness before death are reportable (Unwillingness does not apply) physician to sign the death certificate, provided that to the Coroner for evaluation. Normally, this This would apply to a hospital, for example, were the the antecedent medical conditions do not warrant evaluation will consist of confirming a medical history prior knowledge of the deceased and knowledge making it a coroner’s case. Aspiration of stomach and treatment and whether or not the attending gained while deceased was a patient at the hospital content if from disease for example: as in terminal physician can furnish a cause of death and will sign would not be sufficient to give the cause of death. states such as in carcinoma of stomach, should be the death certificate. This is strictly a matter of knowledge of the subject’s treated as natural causes. All questionable condition aspiration cases should be referred to the Coroner. 20. All fetal deaths when gestation period is 20 weeks or longer. (Self-explanatory) 4. Known or suspected homicide. Exposure in the section included heat prostration. (Self-explanatory) 21. All deaths where the decedent was in a hospital less than 24 hours. (Self-explanatory)