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Post by Ellie on Sept 25, 2024 12:50:43 GMT
This may be a dumb question: but is it normal for a deceased person to have an autopsy if they died from what appears to be natural causes? I'm asking because a cousin that lives in a different state than most of my family is having an autopsy done. We'd been told he died of a heart attack. This info came from his wife, and the only details we have on it are that it was "ordered," not who ordered it (private? the police? is it insurance??). I'm guessing this isn't atypical - I just don't know anyone who has had one. My knowledge of them is from the billion crime shows I've seen and books I've read.  |
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chefsuzyq
New Member
Posts: 7
Jul 5, 2024 23:50:58 GMT
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Post by chefsuzyq on Sept 25, 2024 13:06:07 GMT
I’m a nurse in Virginia. In my state there are a few times that autopsies are automatic. Death with trauma—car accident, boatin accidents, etc.
Also if someone is very young that dies at home or if they within 2 days of being in the hospital. All children are also automatically done.
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Post by heatherlynn80 on Sept 25, 2024 13:06:44 GMT
This is likely based on your jurisdiction. In my county, an autopsy is routinely required if (1) the death is suspicious or (2) a physician is not willing or is not available to sign off on the death certificate.
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Post by giatocj on Sept 25, 2024 13:29:25 GMT
My husband, a seemingly healthy 55 year old, collapsed (and died) suddenly in the middle of the night at home. He was transported to the hospital with paramedics working like hell to save him but it didn't work. He was autopsied.
I think this is how all deaths with these circumstances are handled in my state.
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Post by Linda on Sept 25, 2024 13:43:22 GMT
It is going to vary state by state. When my mum died unexpectedly and alone at home - the medical examiner's office was involved but she was elderly and her physician was willing to sign the death certificate and there was nothing suspicious about the circumstances so an autopsy was offered but not required. But if she had been significantly younger or didn't have a physician she had seen recently or the cause of death wasn't as obvious - the medical examiner might have required it. And in many states, a non-attended death automatically triggers an autopsy.
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Post by lucyg on Sept 25, 2024 13:44:19 GMT
My husband was a law enforcement officer who was shot and killed in the line of duty. There were many witnesses. An autopsy was performed, all the same.
My sister-in-law died in her sleep from an aneurism. The police requested an autopsy to make sure my brother didn’t murder her. (He didn’t.)
In California, I believe the standard is that an autopsy is performed unless the person was under a doctor’s care and the doctor signs off on the cause of (natural) death.
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Post by jeremysgirl on Sept 25, 2024 14:00:04 GMT
Esther died at home in her bed. But of course it wasn't natural causes. They did do an autopsy. However, the police opened up an investigation. Her room was completely searched. I had to wait two months for them to issue the autopsy report and death certificate. And then I couldn't have it for another week while the police wrapped up their investigation. The investigation was closed as it was found that she ingested the drug that killed her. It was ruled an accident.
My brothers death too was investigated and an autopsy done. And he had all manner of health problems.
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Post by lucyg on Sept 25, 2024 14:17:45 GMT
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Post by ~summer~ on Sept 25, 2024 14:18:16 GMT
As others are said - they are usually performed on suspicion or unexplained or sudden deaths. Or the family or insurance company can request it. Or there could be a public health concerns.
There can also be medical or legal reasons to do one - or to do a second one. The family or police often ask my uncle to do a second autopsy (he’s a forensic pathologist - has done a lot of famous people we have all heard of!)
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Post by Penellopy on Sept 25, 2024 14:25:03 GMT
I am in Texas and all of these occurred in Texas but different counties. My husband died at home but transported to the hospital before being pronounced. No autopsy.
My niece died at home from a drug overdose. There was an autopsy.
My nephew died in a hospital in San Antonio. There was an autopsy due to the nature of the death. We did ask why and they said the county required under certain circumstances an autopsy is automatically ordered even when the cause of death is obvious.
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Post by Darcy Collins on Sept 25, 2024 14:27:02 GMT
It varies by state. In my state, an autopsy is standard for any unattended death (ie didn't die in a hospital/skilled nursing facility) unless they are under a doctor's care for an illness and the doctor is willing to sign the death certificate. The age/illness/doctor will all help determine whether they will sign off without an autopsy.
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Post by disneypal on Sept 25, 2024 14:28:41 GMT
It’s not the norm.
However, I understand (have heard) if a person is alone when they die, an autopsy is required
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Post by librarylady on Sept 25, 2024 14:33:11 GMT
Texas: My sister chose suicide by gun. Authorities ordered autopsy to verify it was not murder.
My mother died and she was in a study about ALzheimer's. Doctor asked if we would submit her brain, we agreed.
The rest of her body was not autopsied, but her brain was thoroughly examined.
I think in Texas if the person is under the care of a doctor and the doctor verifies information, then there is not autopsy. I recall an incident that involved a political figure. Several people were asking for autopsy and none was done because the family doctor said he had seen the deceased within 30 days. (I can't remember who the politician was now).
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Post by alsomsknit on Sept 25, 2024 14:44:21 GMT
My husband, a seemingly healthy 55 year old, collapsed (and died) suddenly in the middle of the night at home. He was transported to the hospital with paramedics working like hell to save him but it didn't work. He was autopsied. I think this is how all deaths with these circumstances are handled in my state. It has been years. The same was done with my best friend’s dad when he died of a heart attack at work. Not sure how old he was. Old enough to have teenagers. |
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Post by mom on Sept 25, 2024 15:38:34 GMT
Pretty much routine if there is not an obvious cause of death. And just FYI, when our daughter passed away we had to have an autopsy because she was a child. We were fine with that. What we weren't ok was getting the autopsy results back in the mail, and it was not obvious what was in the package because it only had a street return address. So I opened it. And autopsy reports are very, very detailed and gruesome (even if the best cases). So maybe warn whoever will get the results back that they will be coming via mail and maybe dont open that package if they are not somewhere private. Its all very shocking.
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sueg
Prolific Pea
Posts: 8,572
Location: Munich
Apr 12, 2016 12:51:01 GMT
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Post by sueg on Sept 25, 2024 15:43:08 GMT
I think in Texas if the person is under the care of a doctor and the doctor verifies information, then there is not autopsy. I recall an incident that involved a political figure. Several people were asking for autopsy and none was done because the family doctor said he had seen the deceased within 30 days. (I can't remember who the politician was now). I'm not from Texas, but I have heard similar in Australia - if a person is not under the care of a doctor, or hasn't seen a doctor for a period of time (whether that be a month or longer), then an autopsy is performed. |
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Rhondito
Pearl Clutcher
MississipPea
Posts: 4,853 
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Post by Rhondito on Sept 25, 2024 16:09:19 GMT
Pretty much routine if there is not an obvious cause of death. And just FYI, when our daughter passed away we had to have an autopsy because she was a child. We were fine with that. What we weren't ok was getting the autopsy results back in the mail, and it was not obvious what was in the package because it only had a street return address. So I opened it. And autopsy reports are very, very detailed and gruesome (even if the best cases). So maybe warn whoever will get the results back that they will be coming via mail and maybe dont open that package if they are not somewhere private. Its all very shocking. I'm so sorry... I didn't know you had lost a child. <3 |
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Post by mom on Sept 25, 2024 16:17:29 GMT
Pretty much routine if there is not an obvious cause of death. And just FYI, when our daughter passed away we had to have an autopsy because she was a child. We were fine with that. What we weren't ok was getting the autopsy results back in the mail, and it was not obvious what was in the package because it only had a street return address. So I opened it. And autopsy reports are very, very detailed and gruesome (even if the best cases). So maybe warn whoever will get the results back that they will be coming via mail and maybe dont open that package if they are not somewhere private. Its all very shocking. I'm so sorry... I didn't know you had lost a child. <3 Thank you. It's been over 20 years now since she's been gone. |
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Post by KelleeM on Sept 25, 2024 16:26:14 GMT
My husband died after 3 days in hospital. I was asked if I wanted an autopsy and declined.
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sweetpeasmom
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 2,707
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Post by sweetpeasmom on Sept 25, 2024 21:08:11 GMT
I'm in Georgia. The most recent deaths I've experienced are my fil (2021), my mom (April of this year) and my aunt (3 weeks ago).
My fil died at the hospital. He was admitted with a heart attack, he coded a few hours later, they resuscitated him but he ultimately couldn't be helped. DH made the decision to remove life support. No autopsy done.
My mom was in a nursing home, from a stroke, on hospice. They think she aspirated that Sunday morning. Her vitals were not good. She went unresponsive around 4:30pm and passed away 4 days later on Wednesday. No autopsy
My aunt was admitted on a Thursday to the hospital via the ER. She was going into kidney failure and was already in liver failure. They intubated her and put her on dialysis. 5 different pressers to keep her blood pressure up. Her kids decided at 1:30 am on that Monday to taker her off life support (ironically exactly 3 years to the day from when my fil passed). This is a case where I wish an autopsy had been done. But it wasn't. My cousin couldn't bring herself to do it (she couldn't handle the thought of what happens in an autopsy). Given the circumstances, I think one would have been good.
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Post by Bobomommy on Sept 26, 2024 1:25:51 GMT
My ex-husband died 11 days after our divorce was final. He was at his girlfriend’s sister’s house and she said he was stung by something, then went into anaphylactic shock. They did an autopsy because he had never experienced being allergic to any bees.
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Post by travelsoul on Sept 26, 2024 3:17:16 GMT
Pretty much routine if there is not an obvious cause of death. And just FYI, when our daughter passed away we had to have an autopsy because she was a child. We were fine with that. What we weren't ok was getting the autopsy results back in the mail, and it was not obvious what was in the package because it only had a street return address. So I opened it. And autopsy reports are very, very detailed and gruesome (even if the best cases). So maybe warn whoever will get the results back that they will be coming via mail and maybe dont open that package if they are not somewhere private. It’s all very shocking. Agree! my dad’s autopsy papers were not not well marked so I didn’t realize what I was opening until it was too late. He died in a car accident and I ended up reading most of the report. Wish I hadn’t but couldn’t stop once I started. |
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Post by AussieMeg on Sept 26, 2024 3:33:21 GMT
mom and travelsoul , I am so sorry you received the autospsy results in that manner. I can't imagine the shock and pain that must have caused. Many years ago, I read the autopsy report of my then-boyfriend's 16yo cousin, who died after being struck by a car. You're not wrong about how detailed they are - I remember at the time thinking how awful it must have been for his parents, reading all the minute details in that report. It must be so traumatising. Even though my sister died in hospital from a terminal illness, they still did an autopsy. I think they asked mum and dad if they could, and it was really for medical/scientific purposes, to help with research and future treatments.
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TXMary
Pearl Clutcher
And so many nights I just dream of the ocean. God, I wish I was sailin' again.
Posts: 3,035
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Post by TXMary on Sept 26, 2024 4:08:29 GMT
My dad died suddenly in 1993. He was a very healthy 64 years old but collapsed and was taken by ambulance to the hospital where he was pronounced dead. We live in Texas but he died on vacation in Arkansas. No autopsy.
My sister died at home here in Texas of cancer. No autopsy.
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Post by Ellie on Sept 26, 2024 14:32:01 GMT
Thank you all for sharing - we stil don't have any more details. He died in Georgia. He was 51. And we just realized that his obituary, that was posted on the funeral home's site, was removed. It was posted 4 days ago but now the only trace of it is in the Google search -- you can see it was there but it's not once you go to the site(s). A few family members are feeling a little conspiratorial about that but I'm guessing it'll end up being nothing. I hope! Thanks again!
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