Coroner Education Requirements: A Comprehensive Guide

The office of the coroner is a vital part of the legal and medical system, responsible for investigating deaths and determining their cause and manner. While the specific requirements to become a coroner vary by jurisdiction, a general understanding of the role and its necessary qualifications is essential. This article will explore the duties of a coroner, the educational and training requirements, and other relevant aspects of this important profession.

The Role of the Coroner

The role of a Coroner is to investigate the circumstances surrounding a person's death and determine the cause and manner of death. The coroner’s duties include examining the body, reviewing medical records, conducting autopsies, and gathering evidence related to the death. The job of a Coroner is crucial because it helps provide closure for the family and loved ones of the deceased and contributes to public safety by identifying potential threats to the community.

People often confuse a coroner with a Medical Examiner. Even though they’re related to the exact same line of work, there are some differences. Medical Examiners are licensed forensic pathologists (Medical Doctors) who specialize in the investigation of unexpected, violent, unattended or suspicious deaths. On the other hand, a coroner is an appointed or elected public official whose main job includes determining and certifying cause of death. Usually, coroners work in relation to the Sheriff’s Department and aren’t necessarily required to have a medical degree. However, to add to that confusion, Medical Examiners sometimes are referred to as Coroners and vice versa.

Deaths Investigated by the Coroner

When is a death a coroner's case? Everyone would say homicide, and yes, that is correct. Suicides and all accidents are also to be investigated by the coroner. But by far the largest segment of the deaths to be investigated by the coroner is in the natural manner. Most county health departments report a one percent death rate in each county per year. Of this total, the coroner investigates about 12 percent of the cases. So if you have 200,000 people in your county and one percent die this year, then you will have 2,000 deaths. The coroners will then investigate about 240 cases with 60-70 percent of these natural deaths.

Natural deaths include people who have no attending physician to sign the death certificate. It is also composed of those individuals who die suddenly and unexpectedly, even though they have been seen recently by a physician. They include individuals who have affected their health by the use of drugs or alcohol.

All deaths of inmates while incarcerated or when the eventual cause of death is found to have originated while the victim was incarcerated is another type of death that is investigated by the coroner. Deaths of individuals who die of a disease that might constitute a threat to public health are also reviewed.

Deaths of people whose bodies are to be cremated, buried at sea, transported out of state, or otherwise are unavailable for pathological study must be reviewed by the coroner. Deaths of transplant surgery donors that are the result of some type of trauma are also reviewed.

Core Responsibilities

Coroner Responsibilities: The responsibilities of the coroner might be fairly broad, as they might involve:

Supervising administrative personnel and deputy coroners inside the coroner’s office
Testifying in a court of law
Completing reports needed to finalize cases or conduct investigations
Ordering autopsies, as well as directing the activities of crime scenes and forensic experts conducting pathological testing upon the deceased
Making arrangements for the notification of the deceased person’s next of kin
Interviewing witnesses present during the time of death
Recording and observing bodies and associated evidence
Completing the death certificate, which involves the manner and cause of death
Establishing the deceased person’s identity
Performing preliminary exams that locate indications of trauma and identify traits which might be an indication of the time of death
Conferring with law enforcement and public health agencies
Studying and requesting the medical histories of the deceased person to help in the manner and cause of death
Studying and receiving death reports from law enforcement agencies and physicians
Overseeing the gathering of pathological, scientific, and physical evidence
Initiating investigations during crime scenes that determine the cause of death

Duties of the County Coroner

Duties of the coroner include:

IDENTIFICATION of the deceased
Determination of the CAUSE of death
Determination of the MANNER of death

IDENTIFICATION may be as easy as having a family member at the scene when you get there or as difficult as having only a few bones to work with and having to utilize one of the many experts available to your coroner.

CAUSE of death is the final factor or event that happened to the deceased. If this had not happened, the individual would still be alive. This may be a cascade of factors or events, one following the other and this will be reflected on the death certificate that your coroner files with the county health department

As an example:

A. asphyxia (inability to breathe), due to B. chest compression, due to C. settling of automobile, due to D. failure of jacking apparatus.

This group of factors is referred to as the mechanism, which lead to the asphyxia, which is the cause of death.

MANNER of death is a descriptive grouping. It is, however, a firmly set, universally accepted acknowledgement of how people die. These possibilities are:

Read also: Becoming a Neonatal Nurse

A. homicide; B. suicide; C. accident; D. natural; and E.

Activities at a Crime Scene

What Do Coroners Do at the Crime Scene? The coroner’s main task is to ensure that someone did not die through foul play. This process starts by the confirmation of the victim’s identity. In general, the coroner has to be immediately notified about violent, suspicious, or sudden fatalities. An investigator then is dispatched to talk to witnesses, family members, and law enforcement agencies at the crime scene. If no information emerges from these interviews, the coroner then orders further tests, like fingerprinting, that establish the identity of the victim.

Postmortem Responsibilities

If toxicological tests, pathological tests, or autopsies are needed, the coroner supervises physicians, the office investigators, as well as technicians who conduct those jobs. Once he records and establishes a formal cause of death, a coroner coordinates the return of the deceased individual’s personal belongings and unclaimed body to next-of-kin. In addition, the coroner has to testify at trials, inquests, and hearings, and directs his team to get permanent records ready for such proceedings.

Disposition of Remains

After a coroner completes his initial tasks of investigation - which include the recording of all critical facts about the death - he’ll determine if the body of the victim may be moved without having to contaminate the scene or destroy additional evidence. If detectives concur, the coroner gathers all personal possessions, and makes arrangements for the transportation of the body to a county morgue center. If the fatality happens at the hospital, a medical examiner’s or coroner’s rep takes custody of the body there. Then, next-of-kin is notified.

Establishing the Cause of Death

How rapidly a person’s cause of death is determined depends upon the evidence which emerges. Sometimes, a short physical exam of the body of the victim, crime scene photograph analysis, or interviews are enough to quickly close an investigation. If doubts persist, a coroner sends personal belongings, like medications, for lab analysis. The coroner also likely will order autopsies in fatalities which suggest criminal activities or outside events, like drowning, for instance.

Education and Training Requirements

To become a Coroner, specific qualifications may vary by state or jurisdiction but typically include a high school diploma or equivalent and often a degree in a related field, such as forensic science or criminal justice. In many jurisdictions, Coroners are elected officials, meaning that they are voted into office by the citizens they will serve. Once elected, they typically undergo a training program that provides them with the necessary knowledge and skills to perform their duties.

Coroners performing Medical Examiner responsibilities like conducting an autopsy, might have to be a licensed medical physician (typically a forensic pathologist). County or state law determines the jobs of the coroner. In most rural regions of the country, the coroner simply may be an area business owner. Within some counties and states, the Justice of the Peace, sheriff, or county district attorney will be assigned to act as coroner merely because it is in their job description. Even though most coroners around the country don’t hold medical degrees, most are trained in industries like anatomy, criminology, forensic science, medicine, pathology, experimental pathology, pre-medicine, or physiology.

Minimum Requirements for a Coroner Job

There aren’t any set requirements to becoming a coroner in regard to experience and education. But, the resume of the candidate clearly should detail knowledge of:

Investigative techniques and principles
Medical terminology
Anatomy
Physiology
Basic rules of evidence
Interviewing techniques
Gathering information

Most jurisdictions require that a coroner pass a POST exam and meet the minimum standards for peace officers. Most coroners have a college degree that has an emphasis on medicine or additional scientific field, even though coroners, depending upon the jurisdiction, might be businessmen, funeral directors, or farmers, for instance. There are some states which require that coroners be licensed doctors, even though just as many states don’t require that coroners have any medical training, whatsoever.

Coroners most often are, at first, hired as deputy coroners, who successfully must finish a probationary period and on-the-job, specific training to accomplish higher-level jobs.

Coroner Education in Indiana

As with all other constitutionally elected officers, one need to be an elector of the county, and a resident for one year in order to be elected. The coroner does not perform autopsies (unless he or she is also a board-certified pathologist). The coroner is an administrator above all else. By living locally and being elected, the corner is answerable to the people. The coroner has innumerable experts to call upon to help them render a decision. The Indiana State Coroners Training Board has been established and funded to provide 40 hours of basic training and 16 hours of annual continuing education for coroners to assist them in the administration of their duties and establish mandatory training leading to certification.

Deputy Coroner Education in Indiana

A deputy Coroner is an appointed or hired position by the coroner. Which after they are appointed or hired, they must attend a 40-hour Medicolegal Death Investigators Course and become certified in the state of Indiana within one (1) year of appointment. In order to attend the 40-hour Medicolegal Death Investigators training you must be a duly elected coroner or appointed or hired deputy coroner.

Coroner Education in Pennsylvania

The coroner or medical examiner shall be a statutory office elected at the municipal election and shall hold the office for the term of four years, beginning on the first Monday of January next after election, and until his successor is duly qualified. The coroner may appoint one or more deputies to act in his place and stead, as he may deem proper and necessary. Such deputy or deputies shall have the same powers as the coroner.

No person shall be elected to any county office, except the office of district attorney otherwise provided for by this act, unless he shall be at least eighteen years of age, a citizen of the United States and a resident of the county, and shall have resided within the county for one year next preceding his election.

After the effective date of this act, no person elected for the first time to the office of coroner in this Commonwealth shall be eligible to take the oath of office unless he has attended the course of instruction and successfully passed the examination given at the conclusion thereof unless, for just cause, the board postpones his attendance and examination. In the event the person so elected fails in either of these respects without being excused, there shall be deemed to be a vacancy in the office, and it shall be filled in accordance with law. No person having served as coroner in Pennsylvania prior to the effective date of this act shall be required to attend instructions or pass this examination if reelected or appointed subsequent to the effective date of this act. This provision shall also apply to chief deputies and full-time deputies who have been appointed prior to the effective date of this act. A written examination is given at the conclusion of the course. A licensed forensic pathologist may be exempt from the requirement of attendance at the Basic Education Course and completion of the examination.

Coroners and deputy coroners are required to obtain a minimum of 8 hours of continuing education credits in each calendar year. Continuing education credits are to be obtained in subject areas relevant to the statutorily defined duties of coroners and deputy coroners.

Specialized Coroner Training

Depending upon the jurisdiction, coroners might have to become certified death investigators via associations like the ABMDI that provides both advanced board certification programs and basic certification.

To be eligible for basic certification, a candidate has to:

Have a minimum of 640 hours of experience in death investigation
Be presently employed as a coroner or medical examiner and have the major responsibility of performing death scene investigations
Have a GED or high school diploma
Be 18 years of age

Furthermore, individuals successfully must pass the Registry Exam, a multiple-choice, 240-question exam covering technical details, principles, factual knowledge, and problem-solving for death investigators. Exam topics involve:

Investigating Deaths
Coping with Job-Associated Stress
Demonstrating Scientific Knowledge
Maintaining Legal and Ethical Responsibilities
Interacting with Local, State, and Federal Agencies
Preserving and Identifying Evidence
Interacting with Family Members
Communicating

Salary Expectations

One recent job posting in Champaign county, Illinois reveals a salary range for deputy coroners of between $47,080 to $63,225, whereas another job posting in Sacramento County, California reports a salary range of $37,062 to $47,293 for coroners.

A handful of jurisdictions establish salary ranges for coroners, whereas a few states establish salaries for all jurisdictions within the state. For instance, in Ohio a coroner’s salary depends on the jurisdiction’s population and if the coroner is a practicing doctor who has a private practice.

Historical Context and the Coroner System

Introduced to the colonies by early settlers, the role of coroner dates back to English common law. King Richard I developed the system in the 12th century, partly to fund the expensive Crusades. The more than 2,000 coroner offices across the United States are vestiges of this royal system. Individual state statutes dictate whether death investigations -- which include examining the scene, reviewing medical records, performing autopsies and determining the manner and cause of death -- are conducted by a coroner or a medical examiner.

Advocates for county coroners say the system, while perhaps not perfect, is the only practical way to conduct death investigations. Murphy argues that rather than replacing coroners, there should be more efforts to professionalize the service and raise standards that way. He suggests the establishment of a "coroner college" to improve and standardize education.

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