The coroner’s jurisdiction is determined by CRS 30-10-606 (1), which states: The coroner shall immediately notify the district attorney, proceed to view the body, and make all proper inquiry respecting the cause and manner of death of any person in his jurisdiction who has died under any of the following circumstances:

Comment: "Unexplained cause" seems to permit some flexibility of interpretation. A patient who expires suddenly under innocent circumstances and has a long-standing history of heart disease has probably not died of "unexplained cause". "Suspicious circumstances" has specifically been defined by some courts as meaning "an inference of foul play". This should not be used capriciously to justify a coroner’s investigation and an autopsy.

Comment: "unable" is not the same as "unwilling". If the reason for coroner jurisdiction is unclear, direct conversation with the attending physician should be undertaken to clarify the situation.

Comment: "Chemical" includes drugs. Delayed deaths from complications of drug use or abuse must be reported to the coroner.

Comment: In Colorado, "criminal abortion" is defined as "to end or cause to be ended the pregnancy of a woman by any means other than justified medical termination of birth."

Comment: This is usually understood to mean undiagnosed, but perhaps suspected cases of infectious disease which may endanger a family, the community, intimate contacts, or attending medical personnel, e.g. undiagnosed AIDS, tuberculosis, meningococcemia, viral encephalitis, etc.

Comment: Whether from obvious violence or "apparent" natural causes, these cases should be accepted for investigation. An independent investigation, including an autopsy, is in the public interest to preclude problems arising later from allegations of "abuse", "brutality", or "inadequate care".

Comment: "Good health" is a relative term which means different things to different people. The application of this portion of the statute requires discretion and communication with the deceased’s family as well as with medical caregivers.

Comment: Deaths resulting from workplace accident, workplace exposure, or any other job-related factors, i.e. workman’s compensation cases, fall under the jurisdiction of the coroner. As a general rule, any death on the job will be investigated to ensure that the cause of death is adequately documented. The coroner’s jurisdiction is generally understood to also include deaths from delayed complications of workplace exposure such as malignant mesothelioma resulting from asbestos exposure or late developing cancers resulting from workplace radiation exposure.

OTHER RESPONSIBILITIES

The investigation of a death by the Coroner is an extremely important function as it is done by an independent agency not working for or beholden to law enforcement, the physician, the nursing home, the hospital, the prosecution or the defense, but rather acting on behalf of the deceased to obtain the truth about their deaths.

Associated with the responsibility of determining the cause and manner of death, the Coroner has numerous other responsibilities:

1. Pronounce death and determine time of death.  Only a physician or coroner may pronounce death.
   
2. Investigation.  Colorado law is specific that the body of a deceased person may not be moved from its place of death until the Coroner arrives at the scene.  Scene investigation includes evidence collection, scene interviews, and examination of the body and circumstances.  It must be followed up with additional information gathering from family, friends, physicians, law enforcement, etc., and procurement of medical records and other material that might be informative.   The Coroner is exempt from HIPAA, and is empowered to obtain any and all otherwise confidential medical and mental health records.  The Coroner must correlate scene findings with the autopsy, antemortem medical records, clinical history, criminal, psychological and family medical history in arriving at a determination.
3. Take custody of body.  It is the Coroner’s responsibility to see that the body is removed from the scene to the mortuary or forensic facility.  This must be done with extreme care if there is evidence to be preserved, as well as with sensitivity no matter whether the body is in a hospital or is a decomposed, maggot infested, unknown body in the woods.

4. Make positive identification of the deceased.  Usually easy, this can be extremely difficult and time consuming, particularly in cases of illegal immigrants or when there is advanced decomposition or mutilation.  Fingerprints, dental, medical or radiological records and DNA may be used if appropriate antemortem exemplars can be obtained.

5. Identify, notify and communicate with the next of kin.  Usually identification and notification are assisted greatly by law enforcement.  However, it is the Coroner’s responsibility to keep next of kin informed of the progress and outcome of the investigation.  The description of the Medical Examiner as “family physician to the bereaved” equally applies to the Coroner.

6. Skeletal remains.  The Coroner is responsible for determining if bones are human or animal and if human, if they are ancient or Native American or have forensic value.  Appropriate State agencies must be notified.

7. Death certificates.  At the conclusion of the death investigation, the Coroner signs the death certificate, which is the legal document that states the cause and manner of death maintained by the Department of Vital Statistics.  This extremely important document is used to settle criminal and civil legal matters, and insurance benefits to survivors often depend upon rulings.

8. Record keeping.  Coroners must  keep records and reports of each death investigation.  Their records may be subpoenaed for criminal and civil proceedings or requested by insurance companies or family members.

9. Other functions.  The Coroner provides information to and works closely with other state and federal agencies (Health Department, OSHA, FAA, NTSB, Consumer Product Safety Commission), local physicians, hospitals, law enforcement agencies, district attorneys, public defenders, private attorneys and insurance companies.  Coroners provide learning opportunities and information about the function of the office to many agencies, schools, community organizations, hospitals and other health care facilities/workers.  They typically serve on or provide substantial input to disaster management boards, death review committees, child fatality committees, public safety committees, etc.

10. Monetary issues.  The investigation of the Coroner’s office provides information which directly impacts insurance and various death benefit claims and the settlement of estates.  Some decisions could directly impact the county or state government, particularly in the areas of industrial accidents and deaths in custody.