LegalFix

Section 3 - Duty to Report Deaths; Failure to Report

MA Gen L ch 38 § 3 (2019) (N/A)
Copy with citation
Copy as parenthetical citation

Section 3. It shall be the duty of any person having knowledge of a death which occurs under the circumstances enumerated in this paragraph immediately to notify the office of the chief medical examiner, or the medical examiner designated to the location where the death has occurred, of the known facts concerning the time, place, manner, circumstances and cause of such death:

(1) death where criminal violence appears to have taken place, regardless of the time interval between the incident and death, and regardless of whether such violence appears to have been the immediate cause of death, or a contributory factor thereto;

(2) death by accident or unintentional injury, regardless of time interval between the incident and death, and regardless of whether such injury appears to have been the immediate cause of death, or a contributory factor thereto;

(3) suicide, regardless of the time interval between the incident and death;

(4) death under suspicious or unusual circumstances;

(5) death following an unlawful abortion;

(6) death related to occupational illness or injury;

(7) death in custody, in any jail or correctional facility, or in any mental health or mental retardation institution;

(8) death where suspicion of abuse of a child, family or household member, elder person or disabled person exists;

(9) death due to poison or acute or chronic use of drugs or alcohol;

(10) skeletal remains;

(11) death associated with diagnostic or therapeutic procedures;

(12) sudden death when the decedent was in apparent good health;

(13) death in any public or private conveyance;

(14) fetal death, as defined in section 202 of chapter 111, where the period of gestation has been 20 weeks or more or where fetal weight is 350 grams or more;

(15) death of children under the age of 18 years from any cause;

(16) any person found dead;

(17) death in an emergency treatment facility, medical walk-in center, child care center or under foster care; or

(18) deaths occurring under such other circumstances as the chief medical examiner shall prescribe in regulations promulgated pursuant to chapter 30A.

A physician, police officer, hospital administrator, licensed nurse, department of children and families social worker, or licensed funeral director, within the commonwealth, who, having knowledge of such an unreported death, fails to notify the office of the chief medical examiner of such death shall be punished by a fine of not more than five hundred dollars. Such failure shall also be reported to the appropriate board of registration, where applicable.

LegalFix

Copyright ©2024 LegalFix. All rights reserved. LegalFix is not a law firm, is not licensed to practice law, and does not provide legal advice, services, or representation. The information on this website is an overview of the legal plans you can purchase—or that may be provided by your employer as an employee benefit or by your credit union or other membership group as a membership benefit.

LegalFix provides its members with easy access to affordable legal services through a network of independent law firms. LegalFix, its corporate entity, and its officers, directors, employees, agents, and contractors do not provide legal advice, services, or representation—directly or indirectly.

The articles and information on the site are not legal advice and should not be relied upon—they are for information purposes only. You should become a LegalFix member to get legal services from one of our network law firms.

You should not disclose confidential or potentially incriminating information to LegalFix—you should only communicate such information to your network law firm.

The benefits and legal services described in the LegalFix legal plans are not always available in all states or with all plans. See the legal plan Benefit Overview and the more comprehensive legal plan contract during checkout for coverage details in your state.

Use of this website, the purchase of legal plans, and access to the LegalFix networks of law firms are subject to the LegalFix Terms of Service and Privacy Policy.

We have updated our Terms of Service, Privacy Policy, and Disclosures. By continuing to browse this site, you agree to our Terms of Service, Privacy Policy, and Disclosures.
Section 3 - Duty to Report Deaths; Failure to Report