§ 23-4-1. Definitions.
(a) “Assistant medical examiner” means a duly licensed doctor of medicine or osteopathy appointed to assist the office of state medical examiners on a part-time basis.
(b) “Autopsy” means the dissection of a dead body and the removal and examination of bone, tissue, organs, and foreign objects for the purpose of determining the condition of the body and the cause and the manner of the death.
(c) “Cause of death” means the agent that has directly or indirectly resulted in a death.
(d) “Inquest” means an official judicial inquiry before a medical examiner and/or medical examiners jury for the purpose of determining the manner of death.
(e) “Manner of death” means the means or fatal agency that caused a death.
(f) “Postmortem examination” means examination after death and includes an examination of the dead body and surroundings by an agent of the office of state medical examiners but does not include dissection of the body for any purpose.
(g) “Work product” means preliminary drafts, notes, impressions, memoranda, working papers, and similar documents of a governmental entity, whether in electronic or other format.
History of Section.P.L. 1973, ch. 169, § 1; P.L. 2018, ch. 82, § 1; P.L. 2018, ch. 92, § 1.
Structure Rhode Island General Laws
Chapter 23-4 - Office of State Medical Examiners
Section 23-4-1. - Definitions.
Section 23-4-2. - Establishment of office.
Section 23-4-4. - Jurisdiction.
Section 23-4-4.1. - Procedure for performance of autopsies against a family’s religious beliefs.
Section 23-4-5. - Chief medical examiner — Assistants and other staff.
Section 23-4-6. - State medical examiners commission.
Section 23-4-7. - Reporting of certain deaths required — Violations — Penalties.
Section 23-4-8. - Procedure for investigation of deaths.
Section 23-4-9. - Deaths in public places.
Section 23-4-10. - Disposition of deceased bodies.
Section 23-4-11. - Effects and property of deceased.
Section 23-4-12. - Compensation for recovery of body from water.
Section 23-4-13. - Establishment of fees.
Section 23-4-14. - Preservation of reports — Tabular reports.