(a) Unless the person has reasonable grounds to believe that notice has already been given, a person who attends a death or has knowledge of a death, in addition to notifying a peace officer, shall immediately notify the state medical examiner when the death appears to have

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Terms Used In Alaska Statutes 12.65.005

  • Decedent: A deceased person.
  • Jurisdiction: (1) The legal authority of a court to hear and decide a case. Concurrent jurisdiction exists when two courts have simultaneous responsibility for the same case. (2) The geographic area over which the court has authority to decide cases.
  • peace officer: means
    (A) an officer of the state troopers. See Alaska Statutes 01.10.060
  • person: includes a corporation, company, partnership, firm, association, organization, business trust, or society, as well as a natural person. See Alaska Statutes 01.10.060
  • state: means the State of Alaska unless applied to the different parts of the United States and in the latter case it includes the District of Columbia and the territories. See Alaska Statutes 01.10.060
(1) been caused by unknown or criminal means, during the commission of a crime, or by suicide, accident, or poisoning;
(2) occurred under suspicious or unusual circumstances or occurred suddenly when the decedent was in apparent good health;
(3) been unattended by a practicing physician or occurred less than 24 hours after the deceased was admitted to a medical facility;
(4) been associated with a diagnostic or therapeutic procedure;
(5) resulted from a disease that constitutes a threat to public health;
(6) been caused by a disease, injury, or toxic agent resulting from employment;
(7) occurred in a jail or corrections facility owned or operated by the state or a political subdivision of the state or in a facility for the placement of persons in the custody or under the supervision of the state;
(8) occurred in a foster home;
(9) occurred in a mental institution or mental health treatment facility;
(10) occurred while the deceased was in the custody of, or was being taken into the custody of, the state or a political subdivision of the state or a public officer or agent of the state or a political subdivision of the state; or
(11) been of a child under 18 years of age or under the legal custody of the Department of Family and Community Services, subject to the jurisdiction of Alaska Stat. Chapter 47.10 or Alaska Stat. Chapter 47.12, unless the

(A) child’s death resulted from a natural disease process and was medically expected; and
(B) the child was under supervised medical care during the 24 hours before the death.
(b) A person who attends a death or has knowledge of a death occurring in circumstances other than those enumerated in (a) of this section may notify the state medical examiners of the death if, in the person’s opinion, a death investigation under Alaska Stat. § 12.65.020 – 12.65.025 may be appropriate.
(c) The body of a person whose death has been or should be reported to the state medical examiner under this section may not be moved or otherwise disturbed without the permission of the state medical examiner.
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