The determination and pronouncement of when a person has died has medical, ethical, and legal implications. Laws vary from state to state, and death is usually defined in a state’s statutes.

Definitions and terminology may vary from state to state but generally a person is dead when, according to ordinary standards of medical practice, there is irreversible cessation of the person's spontaneous respiratory and circulatory functions. If artificial means of support preclude a determination that a person's spontaneous respiratory and circulatory functions have ceased, the person is dead when, in the announced opinion of a physician, according to ordinary standards of medical practice, there is irreversible cessation of all spontaneous brain function.

Death occurs when the relevant functions cease. But a formal pronouncement of death is not a legal determination of the cause, manner, or time of death.

In Florida, the determination of death is governed by state statutes that align with the general medical and legal consensus on the definition of death. According to Florida Statute 382.085, a person is considered dead when there is an irreversible cessation of the circulatory and respiratory functions, or when there is an irreversible cessation of all functions of the entire brain, including the brain stem, in accordance with accepted medical standards. This statute allows for the use of accepted medical criteria and technology in making this determination. The pronouncement of death must be made by a qualified physician. It is important to note that while the pronouncement of death establishes that death has occurred, it does not legally determine the cause, manner, or exact time of death. These aspects are typically determined through a death investigation or autopsy when necessary.