Request By:
Hon. Bob Howe
Daviess County Coroner
Room 205, Daviess County Courthouse
212 St. Ann Street
Owensboro, Kentucky 42301
Opinion
Opinion By: Frederic J. Cowan, Attorney General; Gerard R. Gerhard, Assistant Attorney General
By letter of September 4, 1991, you ask, in substance, who is authorized to sign a death certificate concerning a death occurring under unnatural circumstances (unnatural deaths). You explain that there seems to be confusion in the Department of Vital Statistics as to who may sign a certificate of death, and that some believe a physician can sign a certificate of death even regarding a death from unnatural causes.
In our view, only a coroner may lawfully sign a certificate of death concerning a death occurring under unnatural circumstances. Discussion follows:
KRS 72.465(1) provides:
The coroner shall in his sound discretion determine the extent of inquiry to be made into any death occurring under natural circumstances and falling within the provisions of KRS 72.410 to 72.470, and if inquiry reveals that the physician of record has sufficient knowledge to reasonably state the cause of death occurring under natural circumstances, the coroner may authorize such physician to sign the certificate of death. In all other instances, the coroner shall sign the death certificate in coroner's cases.
(Emphasis added.)
A plain reading of KRS 72.465(1) (above) indicates that a physician, if authorized by the coroner, may sign a certificate of death only in a case in which a coroner's inquiry reveals that the physician of record has sufficient knowledge to reasonably state the cause of a death occurring under natural circumstances. The provision indicates that "In all other instances the coroner shall sign the certificate of death." This language means that a certificate of death regarding a death occurring under unnatural circumstances must be signed by the coroner -- a physician cannot properly sign a certificate of death concerning a death occurring under unnatural circumstances.
Although your letter indicates that there seems to be confusion in the Department of Vital Statistics (technically the Office of Vital Statistics) regarding who may sign a certificate of death, we note that certificates of death originate (are signed) at the local level. Confusion may exist on the part of local physicians or funeral directors concerning who may sign a certificate of death, and your views in such connection (e.g., in defining unnatural circumstances). You may want to ensure that physicians and funeral directors, and other appropriate parties at the local level, understand the rules governing who may sign a certificate of death.