Iowa Code 641-127.2 (331,691) explains the duties of the County Medical Examiner and describes the types of deaths that are either required or recommended for autopsy.
Duties of Medical Examiners
Upon receiving notification of a death which affects the public interest, the county medical examiner shall conduct a preliminary investigation of the cause and manner of death. A medical examiner may perform or authorize performance of any scientific study to assist in identifying the cause, circumstances, and manner of death. A medical examiner shall cooperate with other investigating officials and agencies involved and shall share reports, information, and conclusions with these officials and agencies.
Autopsies (Required)
All cases of homicide or suspected homicide, irrespective of the period of survival following injury.
All cases in which the manner of death is undetermined.
All cases involving unidentified bodies.
All deaths of children under the age of two when there is not a clear cause of death, including suspected cases of sudden infant death syndrome. A summary of the findings of the autopsy shall be transmitted by the physician who performed the autopsy to the county medical examiner within two days of completion of the report. Autopsies performed on children under the age of two when the circumstances surrounding the death indicate that sudden infant death syndrome may be the cause of death or the cause of death is not clearly explained by known medical history shall conform to Form ME-4.
All work- and farm-related deaths unless there is an obvious natural cause of death.
All drowning deaths.
All deaths of commercial vehicle drivers that occur during the performance of their job duties.
Deaths due to poisoning.
Deaths of airplane pilots who die as a result of an airplane crash. The National Transportation Safety Board and the Federal Aviation Administration should be contacted prior to the autopsy to request specimen kit(s).
Deaths due to a natural disaster, including tornadoes and floods.
Deaths in a prison, jail or correctional institution or under police custody, where there is not a natural disease process that accounts for the death.
Autopsies (Recommended)
Deaths of adolescents less than 18 years of age when there is not a natural cause of death.
All cases which involve a motor vehicle crash, unless it is a single motor vehicle accident with no potential for litigation and there is an obvious cause of death or the injuries have been clearly documented by hospitalization.
Deaths from suicide.
All pedestrian, bicycle, motorcycle, snowmobile, boating, watercraft, three- or four-wheeler or all-terrain vehicle fatalities.
Deaths due to failure of a consumer product.
Deaths due to a possible public health hazard.
Deaths due to drug or alcohol abuse or overdose.
Electrical- and lightning-related deaths.
Deaths from burns or smoke or soot inhalation.
All deaths related to exposure, such as hypothermia and hyperthermia.
All sport-related deaths, including but not limited to deaths from auto racing and deaths resulting from injuries sustained in football, basketball, baseball, softball, soccer, or other games or sports.
Iowa Code Chapter 144C determines the next of kin or authorized representative that has exclusive authority to decide what will happen in regards to the decedent’s body.
Rights to Disposition
The right to control final disposition of a decedent’s remains or to make arrangements for the ceremony after a decedent’s death vests in and devolves upon the following persons who are competent adults at the time of the decedent’s death, in the following order:
A designee, or alternate designee, acting pursuant to the decedent’s declaration.
The surviving spouse of the decedent, if not legally separated from the decedent, whose whereabouts is reasonably ascertainable.
A surviving child of the decedent, or, if there is more than one, a majority of the surviving children whose whereabouts are reasonably ascertainable.
The surviving parents of the decedent whose whereabouts are reasonably ascertainable.
A surviving grandchild of the decedent, or, if there is more than one, a majority of the surviving grandchildren whose whereabouts are reasonably ascertainable.
A surviving sibling of the decedent, or, if there is more than one, a majority of the surviving siblings whose whereabouts are reasonably ascertainable.
A surviving grandparent of the decedent, or, if there is more than one, a majority of the surviving grandparents whose whereabouts are reasonably ascertainable.
A person in the next degree of kinship to the decedent in the order named by law to inherit the estate of the decedent under the rules of inheritance for intestate succession or, if there is more than one, a majority of such surviving persons whose whereabouts are reasonably ascertainable.
A person who represents that the person knows the identity of the decedent and who signs an affidavit warranting the identity of the decedent and assuming the right to control final disposition of the decedent’s remains and the responsibility to pay any expense attendant to such final disposition. A person who warrants the identity of the decedent pursuant to this paragraph is liable for all damages that result, directly or indirectly, from that warrant.
The county medical examiner, if responsible for the decedent’s remains.
