CopyCited 53 times | Published | Florida 5th District Court of Appeal | 1991 Fla. App. LEXIS 711, 1991 WL 9576
...plied contractual duty between the survivor and the mortician. In the present case, the appellee's right of access to the body (if any) was statutory and a similar implied duty to protect the corpse and respect the survivor's feelings arose. [3] See § 406.11, Fla....
CopyCited 24 times | Published | Florida 5th District Court of Appeal | 2002 WL 1483806
...County Office of the Medical Examiner, and the State of Florida. An amicus curiae brief was filed by Governor Jeb Bush supporting Appellees' position on the constitutionality of section
406.135. The cross-appeal filed by Appellees was abandoned. [2] Section
406.11(1)(a)2., Florida Statutes (2001), provides that if a human being dies by accident in the State of Florida, the medical examiner of the district in which the death occurred or where the body is found "shall determine the cause of death...
CopyCited 18 times | Published | Supreme Court of Florida | 11 Fla. L. Weekly 557
...732.918, provide the cornea of a decedent whenever all of the following conditions are met: (a) A decedent who may provide a suitable cornea for the transplant is under the jurisdiction of the medical examiner and an autopsy is required in accordance with s. 406.11....
...n accidental drowning was reasonable in that five persons, including an off-duty highway patrolman, had witnessed the drowning; that appellant Shutze had established a policy and mechanism for performing autopsies on all drowning victims contrary to section 406.11, Florida Statutes (1981); that decisions on autopsies in Marion County are made by Gauger, a private employee of Shutze & Techman P.A., who obtains and transports bodies to Lake County where autopsies are performed; that appellant Shut...
...ish for which compensatory and punitive damages should be paid. Counts II and III are actions pursuant to chapter 86, Florida Statutes (1981), seeking declaratory judgments as to the Whites' rights, duties, and privileges under sections 732.9185 and 406.11 which allege that both sections are unconstitutional both facially and as applied....
...Counts III and IV allege mental anguish and financial loss caused by, respectively, appellants Shutze and MRMC. The two cases were consolidated and came before the trial judge on motions for summary judgment. In the order under appeal, the trial judge found that section 406.11 was constitutional on its face and as applied, but that section 732.9185 was facially unconstitutional....
...The only question legitimately before us is whether the trial court erred in granting a summary judgment that section 732.9185 is facially unconstitutional. In the present posture of the case, we are not present with the issues of whether sections 406.11 and 732.9185 were complied with in performing these autopsies and cornea removals, of whether the two sections have been constitutionally applied, of whether section 406.11 is facially constitutional, of whether any or all of the appellants are liable, and of the Whites' rights, duties and privileges under sections 406.11 and 732.9185....
...Autopsies were needed in case there were civil suits arising from the death and were important to insurance companies, families, and anyone who might have an interest in the facts. He did not believe the medical examiner had discretion to forego an autopsy when one of the enumerated circumstances of section 406.11 existed, for example, an accidental death....
...The medical examiner, appellant Shutze, recited the following in two affidavits. It is the policy of the medical examiner's office to perform full autopsies on all persons who die in Marion County by accident, including, specifically, drowning or motor vehicle accidents. The medical examiner bases this policy on section 406.11 and the request of the state attorney's office....
...he medical examiner's office which parallel those of appellant Shutze. In addition, appellant Techman recited that he performed the White autopsy and signed the death certificate. He alone made the decision to perform the autopsy, relying on policy, section 406.11, and the request of the state attorney's office....
...It is appropriate, however, to refer to several as illustrative of the issues not yet addressed. The two overarching issues are, first, whether the policies and practices of the medical examiner's office followed in these two cases are consistent with the provisions of sections 406.11 and 732.9185....
...me." Two significant questions of material fact engendered by this section are whether these two autopsies, and accompanying cornea removals, were performed under the authority of the state attorney, and, if so, was that authority legally exercised. Section 406.11(1) authorizes the medical examiner to perform such autopsies as he deems necessary to determine the cause of death....
...Significant questions of material fact also arise in connection with section 732.9185. Two general questions, with numerous subsidiary questions, are whether the conditions precedent to cornea removal were present and whether the provisions of section 732.9185 were followed. The issue of the constitutionality of sections 406.11 and 732.9185, as applied, is inchoate at this stage of the proceeding....
...donation of an article which does not belong to the donor. I agree that these cases present issues of great public importance which may, at some point, require this Court's attention. At this point, however, there is substantial doubt that sections 406.11 and 732.9185 have been correctly interpreted and applied by the cognizant authorities in Marion County....
...185. The Reverend Thomas J. Price of the Florida Conference of United Methodist Churches and the Rabbinical Association of Greater Miami filed amicus briefs in support of the appellees' position. [2] The appellees also challenged as unconstitutional § 406.11, Fla....
...1464,
89 L.Ed.2d 721 (1986); Tillman v. Detroit Receiving Hospital, 138 Mich. App. 683, 360 N.W.2d 275 (1984). [1] This does not mean that medical science may not be advanced as a by-product of autopsies which are legally conducted for other reasons under §
406.11....
CopyCited 15 times | Published | Supreme Court of Florida | 2001 WL 81770
...Stat. (2000) (prohibiting the purchase or sale of human organs and tissue); 42 U.S.C. § 274e (federal law preventing the sale of human organs). Likewise, the State may perform an autopsy when necessitated by the circumstances mandated by statute. See § 406.11, Fla....
CopyCited 9 times | Published | Florida 2nd District Court of Appeal
...Affirmed. NORTHCUTT and KELLY, JJ., Concur. NOTES [1] See §
768.21(4), Fla. Stat. (2003) (providing under Wrongful Death Act that "[e]ach parent of an adult child may . . . recover for mental pain and suffering if there are no other survivors"). [2] Section
406.11(2)(a), Florida Statutes (2003), sets forth the authority of the medical examiner "to determine the identification of or cause or manner of death of the deceased or to obtain evidence necessary for forensic examination." [3] It is not c...
CopyPublished | Florida 4th District Court of Appeal
...decedent’s child the ability to override the decision of the decedent’s
spouse in determining a body’s disposition. As the trial court noted, a
child who suspects “foul play” can contact authorities, who would have
the power to require an autopsy. See § 406.11(1)(a)4., Fla....
CopyPublished | District Court of Appeal of Florida | 1990 Fla. App. LEXIS 8170
...Finally, the trial judge commented that his decision not to apply the statutory inference was crucial to his final determination in the beneficiary’s favor. We disagree with the trial court’s conclusion that section
316.1934(2)(c) does not apply to the instant case. The autopsy, which was mandated by section
406.11, Florida Statutes (1989), was performed for a medical purpose and therefore the inference of section
316.1934(2)(c) was applicable....
CopyAgo (Fla. Att'y Gen. 1979).
Published | Florida Attorney General Reports
the District Medical Examiner is limited by Section
406.11, Florida Statutes,' and thus precludes any
CopyPublished | Florida 1st District Court of Appeal | 2012 WL 2345115, 2012 Fla. App. LEXIS 10000
...Here, it is undisputed that the medical examiner had the requisite qualifications as a pathologist to render opinions regarding cause of death. Indeed, the medical examiner has the statutory duty to determine the cause of death in certain types of cases. See § 406.11, Fla....
CopyAgo (Fla. Att'y Gen. 1992).
Published | Florida Attorney General Reports
...11 While I cannot determine definitively whether these terms would include bodily fluids or specimens, they would appear to be broad and all encompassing. Therefore, it is my opinion that bodily fluids or specimens are included within the prohibition on transportation or conveyance contained within s. 245.16, F.S. 1 Section 406.11 (1), F.S., also authorizes the state attorney to request that the district medical examiner perform examinations, investigations, and autopsies under these circumstances. 2 Section 406.11 (1)(a)-(c), F.S. 3 Section 406.11 (2)(a), F.S....
CopyAgo (Fla. Att'y Gen. 2001).
Published | Florida Attorney General Reports
diagnostic, scientific, or therapeutic purposes." 2 Section
406.11(2)(a), Fla. Stat., states that a district medical
CopyPublished | Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit
...The medical examiner for each district “shall
determine the cause of death” in a variety of circumstances16 and “shall, for that
purpose, make or have performed such examinations, investigations, and autopsies
as he or she shall deem necessary or as shall be requested by the state attorney.”
Fla. Stat. § 406.11(1). Further, any person who becomes aware of a person dying
under circumstances described in section § 406.11 has a duty to report the death to
the medical examiner....
...By disease, injury, or toxic
agent resulting from employment; [or] (b) When a dead body is brought into the state
without proper medical certification; [or] (c) When a body is to be cremated,
dissected, or buried at sea. Fla. Stat. § 406.11)(1)(a)–(c).
31
medical examiner may retain “[a]ny evidence or specimen coming into the
possession of said medical examiner in connection with any investigation or
autopsy,” or deliver it to law enforcement....
CopyPublished | Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit
...disease, injury, or toxic
agent resulting from employment; [or] (b) When a dead body is brought into the state
without proper medical certification; [or] (c) When a body is to be cremated,
dissected, or buried at sea. Fla. Stat. § 406.11)(1)(a)–(c).
31
Fla. Stat. § 406.11(1). Further, any person who becomes aware of a person dying
under circumstances described in section § 406.11 has a duty to report the death to
the medical examiner....
CopyPublished | Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit
...disease, injury, or toxic
agent resulting from employment; [or] (b) When a dead body is brought into the state
without proper medical certification; [or] (c) When a body is to be cremated,
dissected, or buried at sea. Fla. Stat. § 406.11)(1)(a)–(c).
31
Fla. Stat. § 406.11(1). Further, any person who becomes aware of a person dying
under circumstances described in section § 406.11 has a duty to report the death to
the medical examiner....
CopyPublished | Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit
...disease, injury, or toxic
agent resulting from employment; [or] (b) When a dead body is brought into the state
without proper medical certification; [or] (c) When a body is to be cremated,
dissected, or buried at sea. Fla. Stat. § 406.11)(1)(a)–(c).
31
Fla. Stat. § 406.11(1). Further, any person who becomes aware of a person dying
under circumstances described in section § 406.11 has a duty to report the death to
the medical examiner....
CopyAgo (Fla. Att'y Gen. 1994).
Published | Florida Attorney General Reports
...f a patient who dies at home under the care of a home health care agency and for whom the patient's attending physician will sign the death certificate an "unattended" death that must be reported to the district medical examiner pursuant to sections
406.11 and
406.12 , Florida Statutes....
...edical examiner by such health care agency. It is assumed for purposes of your question that the patient was under the care of a home health care agency that is not a hospice organization licensed pursuant to Part VI, Chapter 400 , Florida Statutes. Section 406.11 (1), Florida Statutes, requires the medical examiner of the district in which a death has occurred to perform or have performed such examinations, investigations, and autopsies as he deems necessary or as requested by the state attorne...
...The term "recognized practitioner" is not defined for purposes of the statute. However, section
400.6095 (8), Florida Statutes, provides that "[t]he death of a person enrolled as a hospice patient shall be considered an attended death for purposes of s.
406.11 (1)(a)5." Thus, a hospice licensed pursuant to Part IV, Chapter 440 , Florida Statutes, is recognized as a practitioner, when under whose care a patient dies, the notice requirements in section
406.11 (1), Florida Statutes, are not triggered, absent any of the other circumstances enumerated in the statute that would otherwise require notification of the district medical examiner....
...For example, the death of a patient who has been hospitalized by his attending physician and who dies during the confinement without the doctor's physical presence at the time of death could hardly be said to have been an unattended death. I would note, however, that other provisions of section 406.11 (1), Florida Statutes, requiring notification of the medical examiner, such as when a person dies by accident or in any suspicious or unusual circumstance, could be triggered while a person is under the care of an attending physician in a hospital setting....
...ations, investigations or autopsies as he deems necessary. 10 Where the Legislature has directed how a thing must be done, it is, in effect, a prohibition against its being done in any other manner. 11 Thus, the notification requirements of sections
406.11 and
406.12 , Florida Statutes, must be met when a body is to be cremated, dissected, or buried at sea. Accordingly, it would appear that the death of a person at home while under the care of an attending physician who signs the death certificate does not by itself trigger the notification and procedural requirements in sections
406.11 and
406.12 , Florida Statutes....
...the district medical examiner. In the event a body is to be cremated, dissected, or buried at sea, however, the notification and procedural requirements in these statutes must be met. Sincerely, Robert A. Butterworth Attorney General RAB/tls 1 See, s. 406.11 (a)5., Fla. Stat. (1993). 2 See, s. 406.11 (1)(c), Fla....
CopyPublished | Florida 5th District Court of Appeal | 2015 Fla. App. LEXIS 12848, 2015 WL 5051187
...The medical examiner for each district “shall determine the cause of death” in a variety of circumstances and “shah, for that purpose, make or have performed such examinations, investigations, and autopsies as he or she shall *856 deem necessary or as shall be requested -by the state attorney.” Fla. Stat. § 406.11 (1). Further, any person who becomes aware of a person dying under circumstances described in section § 406.11 has a duty to report the death to the medical examiner....
