An inquest is an investigation into the cause and circumstances of a death. Laws vary from state to state and the circumstances under which an inquest may be required are usually specified in a state’s statutes.

For example, if a person dies in a county with a medical examiner, the medical examiner (or authorized deputy) may be required to conduct an inquest under the these and other circumstances:

• when a person dies within 24 hours after being admitted to a hospital or institution, or dies in prison or jail;

• when a person is killed, or dies from an unnatural cause of death (unless executed by the state for a crime), or dies without one or more good witnesses;

• when the body or a body part of a person is found, and the cause or circumstances of death are unknown;

• when the circumstances of the death of any person lead to suspicion the person died by unlawful means;

• when any person commits suicide, or the circumstances of the person's death lead to suspicion the person committed suicide;

• when a person dies without having been attended by a duly licensed and practicing physician, and the local health officer or registrar required to report the cause of death does not know the cause of death;

• when the person is a child and the death is required to be reported by law; and

• when a person dies who has been attended immediately preceding death by a duly licensed and practicing physician or physicians, and such physician or physicians are not certain as to the cause of death and are unable to certify with certainty the cause of death.

In Tennessee, an inquest into the cause and circumstances of a death is typically conducted by a medical examiner or an authorized deputy in certain situations as outlined by state statutes. These circumstances include deaths occurring within 24 hours of admission to a hospital or institution, deaths in prison or jail, deaths resulting from unnatural causes unless state-executed, deaths without good witnesses, discovery of a body or body part with unknown cause or circumstances of death, deaths under suspicious circumstances suggesting unlawful means, suspected suicides, deaths unattended by a physician where the cause is unknown to local health officials, child deaths mandated to be reported by law, and cases where attending physicians are uncertain about the cause of death. The purpose of the inquest is to determine the cause of death, and it may involve an autopsy, gathering of evidence, and sometimes a formal inquest hearing. The findings can have legal implications, such as in cases of suspected homicide or wrongful death.