Let’s Play Research!
9Dec2003 Filed under: RandomataQuestion: Are autopsies performed by the King County Medical Examiner’s office available to the public?
Answer:
• First I checked Google. Dead end (ha! pun!).
• Then I called 411. I got a woman who kept asking, “So you want the CORNER’S office?” No, no: coroner. She gave me a number.
• I call the number. It’s for King County Road Repair. They, thankfully give me the King County Directory number, who is finally able to give me the Medical Examiner’s number.
• Medical Examiner receptionist seems confused by my question (what’s the procedure for requesting an autopsy report?), but gives me the number of a Mr. Appa.
• Mr. Appa has the answer! While cause of death is public information, the full autopsy report is only available to next of kin, or investigating police officers.
Case closed.
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7 Responses to “Let’s Play Research!”
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Hey there. I'm Ariel Meadow Stallings, a native Seattleite who's written my way up and down the Left Coast. Electrolicious is where I post daily randomata, but I also write for a living. My first book, Offbeat Bride, was published last year.
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Harry
December 9th, 2003 at 3:26 pm
You intentionally left out the bit about _why_ you would need this information didn’t you?
echo
December 9th, 2003 at 4:03 pm
I was wondering the same thing Harry!
donut
December 9th, 2003 at 5:38 pm
Research for the novel mentioned above? (or below, depending on how you are reading this)
mandy
December 9th, 2003 at 6:19 pm
you/I would think that cause of death would be private…how much more is really needed to know in the full autopsy report besides medical terms which the public person wouldn’t really understand, maybe? I think if it was a privacy issue that the cause of death would pretty much give it away…hmm..interesting, but also kind of strange, why were you wondering? i would assume you were writing something, but didn’t seem like your usual writing at least not from what i have seen on this site…i think.
echo
December 9th, 2003 at 8:44 pm
Perhaps she meant when she said, “Case Closed”.
the mighty jimbo
December 9th, 2003 at 10:04 pm
one more reason why your job is cooler than mine.
Ariel
December 9th, 2003 at 10:56 pm
Amy’s guess is most applicable…although I have no intention of writing a novel, I did think that perhaps having the autopsy report would be a good piece of potential research to have around.