When any person dies as a result of criminal or other violent means, by casualty, suicide, suddenly, or in any suspicious or unusual manner, the person in attendance should immediately notify the office of the Coroner of the known facts concerning the time, place, manner and circumstances of the death, and any other information required by the Coroner.

The types of deaths include, but are not limited to:

• Accidental deaths at home
• Accidental deaths at work - Any deaths that follow injury
• Criminal or self-induced abortions
• Deaths at any public place
• Deaths at home
• Deaths at place of employment
• Deaths in a hospital emergency room
• Deaths in a hospital within 24 hours of admittance
• Deaths involving alcoholism or drugs
• Deaths occurring within one year and one month of a hip fracture
• Deaths when an attending physician is unable to determine the cause
• Homicides
• Suicides
• Traffic accident fatalities

Not all of these cases will become coroner cases, but they are all initially reported, and then a decision is made whether the case is released to a doctor for certification on a Medical Certificate of Death, or if the case is thoroughly investigated on a Coroner/Medical Examiner Certificate of Death.