§26-16-99. Duties of coroner/medical examiner.

The duties of the coroner/medical examiner shall include the following:

(1) Except in locations where a county medical examiner has jurisdiction, the coroner or a person acting in a professional capacity shall report the death of a child by telecommunications to the medical examiner or his or her representative as soon as possible upon discovery.

(2) Upon receipt of a report of a child death, the county medical examiner or state medical examiner shall determine whether the death appears to be unexpected/unexplained. If the death appears to be unexpected/unexplained, the county medical examiner or state medical examiner shall commence an investigation of the death consisting of a postmortem examination conducted by a state or county medical examiner. Upon the recommendation of the state medical examiner, with authorization from a district attorney, an autopsy may be conducted. A county medical examiner may conduct an autopsy at his or her discretion as authorized by existing statutes. This section should not be interpreted as mandating an autopsy. In a case where an autopsy is not performed, the postmortem examination shall consist of an external examination.

(Act 97-893, p. 252, §10.)