{"data":{"id":"us-al/ala.-code-26-16-99","jurisdiction":"us-al","citation":"Ala. Code § 26-16-99","heading":"Duties of Coroner/Medical Examiner.","body":"The duties of the coroner/medical examiner shall include the following:\n(1) Except in locations where a county medical examiner has jurisdiction, the coroner or a person acting in a professional capacity shall report the death of a child by telecommunications to the medical examiner or his or her representative as soon as possible upon discovery.\n(2) Upon receipt of a report of a child death, the county medical examiner or state medical examiner shall determine whether the death appears to be unexpected/unexplained. If the death appears to be unexpected/unexplained, the county medical examiner or state medical examiner shall commence an investigation of the death consisting of a postmortem examination conducted by a state or county medical examiner. Upon the recommendation of the state medical examiner, with authorization from a district attorney, an autopsy may be conducted. A county medical examiner may conduct an autopsy at his or her discretion as authorized by existing statutes. This section should not be interpreted as mandating an autopsy. In a case where an autopsy is not performed, the postmortem examination shall consist of an external examination.","path":["Title 26 Infants and Incompetents.","Chapter 16 Child Abuse and Neglect.","Article 5 Child Death Review Teams."],"source_url":"https://alison.legislature.state.al.us/code-of-alabama?section=26-16-99","current_through":"Act 2026-611","vintage":"","retrieved_at":"2026-09-03T14:01:52Z","sha256":"068eaa57b9f78936afa15f2cd26dd4c8aa942e17b3ab828d59781ad2bbc3efb5","source_id":"us-al","stale":false,"prev":"us-al/ala.-code-26-16-98","next":"us-al/ala.-code-26-16-110"},"notice":"GroundRules: Original legal text. Not legal advice."}