HLS 18RS-523 ORIGINAL
2018 Regular Session
HOUSE BILL NO. 160
BY REPRESENTATIVE FOIL AND SENATOR CLAITOR
CORONERS: Provides relative to death investigation documents
1 AN ACT
2To amend and reenact R.S. 13:5713(C)(1)(c), (E)(1), (I), and (J) and R.S. 44:19(A)(3), to
3 enact R.S. 44:19(E), and to repeal R.S. 13:5713(K), (L), and (M) and 5714(C),
4 relative to coroners; to provide for requirements of certain death investigation
5 documents; to provide relative to autopsy reports; to provide relative to notification
6 requirements; to provide relative to public records; to provide relative to duties of
7 coroners; and to provide for related matters.
8Be it enacted by the Legislature of Louisiana:
9 Section 1. R.S. 13:5713(C)(1)(c), (E)(1), (I), and (J) are hereby amended and
10reenacted to read as follows:
11 §5713. Duties; autopsies; investigations
12 * * *
13 C.(1)
14 * * *
15 (c) The coroner shall furnish a death certificate based upon his autopsy with
16 his statement, to the best of his knowledge, of the cause and means manner of death.
17 * * *
18 E.(1) The coroner shall furnish a death certificate based on his examination,
19 investigation, or autopsy, and he shall state as best he can the cause and means
20 manner of death.
21 * * *
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1 I. The coroner shall furnish a copy of his final report or autopsy report, or
2 both, upon written request, to the last attending physician of the deceased or to the
3 designated family physician of the deceased, provided that the family of the deceased
4 has given written authorization to the coroner or to the requesting physician for the
5 release of such report.
6 J.(1) Autopsy reports prepared by the coroner or his designee are public
7 records. The coroner shall provide one copy of the autopsy report, records, writings,
8 and documents of any description in any way compiled, drafted or recorded in
9 connection with an autopsy upon request by the spouse, parent, sibling, child,
10 grandchild, niece, nephew, aunt or uncle. If there is no surviving spouse, parent,
11 sibling, child, grandchild, niece, nephew, aunt or uncle, then the coroner shall
12 provide one copy of the autopsy report upon request to the next of kin. The coroner
13 shall provide copies of the autopsy report, records, writings, and documents of any
14 description in any way compiled, drafted or recorded in connection with an autopsy
15 at no charge to the appropriate law enforcement agencies as requested. The public
16 records fee for any other copy of an autopsy report shall be the same as that charged
17 by the registrar of vital records for the state for a death certificate. The records,
18 writings, and documents of any descriptions in any way compiled, drafted, or
19 recorded in connection with an autopsy shall be provided by the coroner upon
20 payment of a reasonable copying charge pursuant to R.S. 40:1165.1. The autopsy
21 report shall be provided to relatives as provided in this Section at no charge.
22 (2) The provisions of this Subsection shall not apply to the medical records
23 of the decedent.
24 (3) Notwithstanding the provisions of this Subsection, records, writings, and
25 documents of any description in any way compiled, drafted, or recorded in
26 connection with an autopsy which are generated by any public entity other than the
27 coroner shall be obtained from the public entity generating those records, writings,
28 and documents in accordance with other applicable provisions of law.
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1 K.(1) For the purposes of this Section, an autopsy report is the work product
2 of the coroner or his designee. When a coroner investigates a death, the office of the
3 coroner is required to make available for public inspection and copying the autopsy
4 report which shall contain the following:
5 (a) Name, age, sex, race, and address of the deceased.
6 (b) Date and reported time of death.
7 (c) Physical location, including address if available, where the deceased was
8 found.
9 (d) Date, time, and place of autopsy, and the name of the doctor performing
10 the autopsy and the names of all persons present at the autopsy.
11 (e) Information regarding the autopsy, including whether the autopsy was
12 requested or performed by operation of law, a listing of the physical findings of the
13 autopsy, a summary in narrative form of the medical findings and conclusions, the
14 cause of death, the manner and mechanism of death, and the classification of death
15 as homicide, accidental, suicide, undetermined, or under investigation.
16 (2) Notwithstanding the provisions of Paragraph (1) of this Subsection, in
17 a non-coroner case, no autopsy report shall be made available for public inspection
18 or copying if the classification of death is that of natural causes except upon request
19 by the next of kin or upon request in compliance with R.S. 13:3715.1.
20 (3) Notwithstanding the provisions of Paragraph (1) of this Subsection and
21 notwithstanding the provisions of R.S. 13:5714(C), no autopsy report pertaining to
22 criminal litigation as defined in and in accordance with R.S. 44:3(A) shall be
23 required to be made available for public inspection or copying except as otherwise
24 provided by law.
25 L.(1) Liability shall not be imposed on an elected coroner or his support staff
26 based upon the exercise or performance or the failure to exercise or perform their
27 policymaking or discretionary acts when such acts are within the course and scope
28 of their lawful powers and duties.
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1 (2) The provisions of Paragraph (1) of this Subsection are not applicable to
2 any of the following:
3 (a) To acts or omissions which are not reasonably related to the legitimate
4 governmental objective for which the policymaking or discretionary power exists;
5 or
6 (b) To acts or omissions which constitute criminal, fraudulent, malicious,
7 intentional, willful, outrageous, reckless, or flagrant misconduct.
8 (3) The legislature finds and states that the purpose of this Subsection is not
9 to reestablish any immunity based on the status of sovereignty but rather to clarify
10 the substantive content and parameters of application of such legislatively created
11 codal articles and laws and also to assist in the implementation of Article II of the
12 Constitution of Louisiana.
13 M.J. Upon request, the Department of Children and Family Services shall
14 be entitled to obtain at no charge the name, age, preliminary diagnosis, and manner
15 of death of a deceased minor from the office of the coroner conducting the autopsy
16 while the final autopsy is pending.
17 Section 2. R.S. 44:19(A)(3) is hereby amended and reenacted and R.S. 44:19(E) is
18hereby enacted to read as follows:
19 §19. Records of a coroner; autopsy photographs, video, and other visual images
20 A.
21 * * *
22 (3) The provisions of Paragraph (1) of this Subsection shall not apply to a
23 death certificate, final report of a coroner, or autopsy report fact of death letter, or
24 coroner's report.
25 * * *
26 E. Coroner death investigation documents shall include the following:
27 (1) A fact of death letter is a written statement attesting to the fact of death,
28 which shall constitute proof of death for all purposes, including but not limited to
29 any claim under any policy of insurance issued on the life of the deceased individual.
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1 (2) A death investigation report is the work product of the coroner and is an
2 internal document that comprehensively records the findings and all known
3 information about the case created by both the investigative and administrative staff
4 of the coroner's office. The death investigation report is not a public document.
5 However, it shall be made available at no charge to the appropriate law enforcement
6 agencies as requested and is subject to subpoena.
7 (3) A coroner's report is a document that includes the name of the decedent,
8 address, sex, date of birth, age, and race of the decedent, date and time of death,
9 place of death, date and time of autopsy, when applicable, and the cause and manner
10 of death. The coroner's report is a public record, and the coroner or his designee
11 shall release this report to the news media, Department of Children and Family
12 Services, when appropriate, or to the next of kin pursuant to R.S. 8:655(A).
13 However, nothing in this Paragraph shall authorize the release of the information set
14 forth in this Paragraph prior to notification of the next of kin of the deceased unless
15 no next of kin can be determined or, despite reasonable efforts by the coroner's
16 office, no next of kin can be located. The provisions of this Paragraph shall not
17 require the release of information in non-coroner cases.
18 (4) A post-mortem forensic medical examination report, referred to as the
19 "autopsy report", may include an external examination only, an external examination
20 with toxicology, toxicology only, or an autopsy with supporting laboratory
21 evaluation. The post-mortem forensic medical examination report is a document that
22 is the work product of the coroner that contains the name of the decedent, address,
23 date of birth, age, sex, and race of the decedent, date and time of death, place of
24 death, date and time of autopsy, when applicable, name of the doctor performing the
25 autopsy and names of all persons present at the autopsy, and information regarding
26 the autopsy, including whether the autopsy was requested or performed by operation
27 of law, a listing of the physical findings of the autopsy, a summary in narrative form
28 of the medical findings and conclusions, toxicology, histology, and radiology
29 findings, when applicable, and the cause and manner of death. The post-mortem
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1 forensic medical examination report is not a public document. However, it shall be
2 made available at no charge to the appropriate law enforcement agencies as
3 requested and is subject to subpoena. The coroner shall provide one copy of this
4 document upon request by the next of kin pursuant to R.S. 8:655(A) and one copy
5 of this document upon request by the decedent's physician. The provisions of this
6 Paragraph shall not apply to the medical records of the decedent or any records
7 generated by any public entity other than the coroner and those records shall be
8 obtained from the entity generating them in accordance with other applicable
9 provisions of law.
10 Section 3. R.S. 13:5713(K), (L), and (M) and 5714(C) are hereby repealed in their
11entirety.
DIGEST
The digest printed below was prepared by House Legislative Services. It constitutes no part
of the legislative instrument. The keyword, one-liner, abstract, and digest do not constitute
part of the law or proof or indicia of legislative intent. [R.S. 1:13(B) and 24:177(E)]
HB 160 Original 2018 Regular Session Foil
Abstract: Provides for the contents of certain death investigation documents and provides
for whether each of those documents are considered to be public records.
Present law requires the coroner to provide a copy of a final report or autopsy report to the
last attending physician or family physician, if requested in writing. Requires the autopsy
report and related documents to be provided to family, next of kin, or law enforcement
agencies at no charge when requested. Provides that additional copies shall be charged the
same amount as is charged for death certificates. Classifies an autopsy report as a public
record. Outlines the information each autopsy report shall include.
Proposed law provides a detailed description of the information included in coroner death
investigation documents. Provides that the autopsy report is not a public record. However,
it can be made available to law enforcement agencies at no charge upon request and is
subject to subpoena. Additionally, a copy of the autopsy report can be provided to the next
of kin and decedent's physician upon request.
Proposed law further provides that death investigation reports are not public documents, but
can be made available to law enforcement at no charge. Provides that coroners' reports are
public records and shall be released to the news media, the Dept. of Children and Family
Services, when appropriate, or next of kin.
(Amends R.S. 13:5713(C)(1)(c), (E)(1), (I), and (J) and R.S. 44:19(A)(3); Adds R.S.
44:19(E); Repeals R.S. 13:5713(K), (L), and (M) and 5714(C))
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