Duties of the Medical Examiner
Sec. 406.11,F.S., & Ch. 11G-2 FAC
The Medical Examiner is required by law to determine the cause and manner of death when a person dies in District Eight which includes Alachua, Baker, Bradford, Dixie, Gilchrist, Levy and Union Counties and that death meets one or more of the circumstances below:
- Of criminal violence
- By accident
- By suicide
- Suddenly, when in apparent good health
- Unattended by a practicing physician
- In any prison or penal institution
- In police custody
- In any suspicious or unusual circumstance
- By criminal abortion
- By poison
- By disease constituting a threat to public heath
- By disease, injury or toxic agent resulting from employment
“…Any person who knowingly fails or refuses to report such death and circumstances, who refuses to make available prior medical or other information pertinent to the death investigation, or who, without an order from the office of the district medical examiner, willfully touches, removes, or disturbs the body, clothing, or any article upon or near the body…shall be guilty of a misdemeanor of the first degree…”
(s. 406.12, F.S.)
Normal office hours are from 8:00 am to 5:00 pm, Monday through Friday. The office is normally closed on holidays and weekends. An investigator of the Medical Examiner’s Office is available 24 hours a day to accept reports of death that fall within the guidelines of Sec. 406.11 F.S. and require the initiation of an investigation. An investigator may be reached at 352-273-9292.
The Autopsy
The purpose of the autopsy is to determine the cause and manner of death.
