New Mexico Administrative Code
Title 7 - HEALTH
Chapter 3 - STATE MEDICAL INVESTIGATOR'S OFFICE
Part 2 - POLICIES OF THE OFFICE OF THE MEDICAL INVESTIGATOR
Section 7.3.2.13 - CERTIFICATION OF DEATH
Universal Citation: 7 NM Admin Code 7.3.2.13
Current through Register Vol. 35, No. 6, March 26, 2024
A. Citations and Regulations:
(1)
24-11-6
NMSA 1978: If, after reviewing the body, notifying the law enforcement agency
with jurisdiction and making an investigation, the state or district medical
investigator is satisfied that the death was not caused by criminal act or
omission and that there are no suspicious circumstances about the death, he
shall execute a death certificate in the form required by law. He shall also
execute a certificate on a form prescribed by the health and social services
department [health and environment department], authorizing release of the body
to the funeral director for burial. In those cases in which the investigation
is performed by a deputy medical investigator, if, after viewing the body,
notifying the law enforcement agency with jurisdiction and making an
investigation, he is satisfied that the death was not caused by criminal act or
omission and that there are no suspicious circumstances about the death, he
shall report this finding to the state or district medical investigator under
whose direction he is working. Upon receipt of a report from a deputy medical
investigator under this subsection, the state or district medical investigator
may execute a death certificate and a certificate authorizing release of the
body for burial.
(2)
24-14-20 NMSA
1978:
(a) A death certificate for each death
which occurs in this state shall be filed within five days after the death and
prior to final disposition. The death certificate shall be registered by the
state registrar if it has been completed and filed in accordance with this
section, subject to the exception provided in Section
24-14-24 NMSA
1978; provided that:
(i) if the place is
unknown, but the dead body is found in this state, a death certificate shall be
filed with a local registrar within ten days after the occurrence. The place
where the body is found shall be shown as the place of death. If the date of
death is unknown, it shall be approximated by the state medical investigator;
and
(ii) if death occurs in a
moving conveyance in the United States, and the body is first removed from the
conveyance in this state, the death shall be registered in this state and the
place where the body is first removed shall be considered the place of death.
When a death occurs on a moving conveyance while in international waters or air
space or in a foreign country or its air space and the body is first removed
from the conveyance in this state, the death shall be registered in this state
but the certificate shall show the actual place of death insofar as can be
determined by the state medical investigator.
(b) The funeral service practitioner or
person acting as funeral service practitioner who first assumes custody of a
dead body shall file the death certificate. He shall obtain the personal data
from the next of kin or the best qualified person or source available. He shall
obtain the medical certification of cause of death.
(c) The medical certification shall be
completed and signed within forty-eight hours after death by the physician in
charge of the patient's care for the illness or condition which resulted in
death except when inquiry is required by law. In the absence of the physician,
or with his approval, the certificate may be completed and signed by his
associate physician, the chief medical officer of the institution in which
death occurred or the physician who performed an autopsy on the decedent,
provided such individual has access to the medical history of the case, views
the deceased at or after death and death is due to natural causes.
(d) When death occurs without medical
attendance as set forth in Paragraph C of this section [now Subparagraph (c) of
Paragraph (2) or Subsection A of 7.3.2.13 NMAC], or when death occurs more than
ten days after the decedent was last treated by a physician, the case shall be
referred to the state medical investigator for investigation to determine and
certify the cause of death.
(e) An
amended death certificate based on an anatomical observation must be filed
within thirty days of the completion of an autopsy.
(3)
24-14-21
NMSA 1978:
(a) When a death occurring in this
state has not been registered, a certificate may be filed in accordance with
regulations of the board of medical investigators. The certificate shall be
registered subject to evidentiary requirements as prescribed by regulation to
substantiate the alleged facts of death.
(b) Certificates of death registered one year
or more after the date of death shall be marked "delayed" and shall show on
their face the date of the delayed registration.
(4)
24-14-24 NMSA
1978:
(a) The department may, by regulation
and upon conditions as it may prescribe to assure compliance with the purposes
of the Vital Statistics Act [24-14-1 to 2414-20 to
24-14-31
NMSA 1978], provide for the extension of the periods prescribed in Sections
24-14-20,
24-1423 NMSA 1978 for the filing of death certificates, spontaneous fetal death
reports, medical certifications of cause of death and for the obtaining of
burial-transit permits in cases where compliance with the applicable prescribed
period would result in undue hardship.
(b) Regulations of the department may provide
for the issuance of a burial-transit permit prior to the filing of a
certificate upon conditions designed to assure compliance with the purposes of
the Vital Statistics Act in cases where compliance with the requirement that
the certificate be filed prior to the issuance of the permit would result in
undue hardship.
(5)
24-14-25
NMSA 1978:
(a) A certificate or report
registered under the Vital Statistics Act [24-14-1 to
24-14-17,
24-14-20 to
2414-31 NMSA 1978] may be amended only in accordance with that act and
regulations thereunder adopted by the department to protect the integrity and
accuracy of vital statistics records.
(b) A certificate or report that is amended
under this section shall be marked "amended," except as otherwise provided in
this section. The date of the amendment and a summary description of the
evidence submitted in support of the amendment shall be endorsed on or made a
part of the record. The department shall prescribe by regulation the conditions
under which additions or minor corrections may be made to certificates or
records within one year after the date of the event without the certificate or
record being marked "amended."
B. Policy: The certificate of death is the permanent record required by the bureau of vital statistics of the New Mexico department of health and environment. The office of the medical investigator is responsible for the completion of the certificate in all deaths reported to that office in which jurisdiction is assumed. This certification is to the cause (the anatomic condition causing death) and the manner (accident, suicide, accidental, homicide). The cause and manner of death shall be finally determined by the designated pathologist, in accordance with the findings and recommendations of the district and deputy medical investigators.
(1) Time limit for completion: The
certificate (relating to a decedent at the central office), when completed by
the pathologist assigned to the central office, shall be completed and released
with the body. Where toxicology results are not available, a letter indicating
that the case is pending shall be sent with the body. The certificate of death
for all reportable deaths where the body is not brought to the central office
must be completed immediately by the district medical investigator of that
district and provided to the funeral director chosen by the family.
(2) Place of death unknown: The place where
the body is found shall be the place of death. If the date is unknown, it may
be approximated by the state medical investigator.
(3) Body in moving conveyance: If the body is
in a moving conveyance on land and is first removed in this state, this state
shall be considered the place of death. If the body is in a moving conveyance
in international waters or air space, or in a foreign country, and the body is
removed in this state, death is to be registered in this state, but
certification can show the actual place of death if it can be determined by the
state medical investigator.
(4)
Death without medical attendance: A death occurring without medical attendance,
including hospice cases, are reported to the office of the medical
investigator. The office of the medical investigator shall certify the cause of
death only in those cases in which the OMI retains jurisdiction. In all such
unattended cases where the physician of record will certify to the cause of
death, the OMI shall not prepare the certificate of death.
(5) Presumptive death: In cases where no body
is located following a witnessed fatal event, an order issued by the court in
which the presumed death occurred must be presented to the OMI in order for the
death certificate to be issued.
(6)
Amended death certificate: Amended death certificates based on anatomical
observation must be filed within 30 days after completion of the
autopsy.
Disclaimer: These regulations may not be the most recent version. New Mexico may have more current or accurate information. We make no warranties or guarantees about the accuracy, completeness, or adequacy of the information contained on this site or the information linked to on the state site. Please check official sources.
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