County coroners., the official text

First Regular Session of the 124th General Assembly (2025)

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  HOUSE ENROLLED ACT No. 1194

   AN ACT to amend the Indiana Code concerning local government.

   Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of Indiana:

   SECTION 1. IC 36-2-14-20, AS AMENDED BY P.L.148-2024,
SECTION 31, IS AMENDED TO READ AS FOLLOWS [EFFECTIVE
JULY 1, 2025]: Sec. 20. (a) This section applies only to the autopsy of
a person whose death is:

      (1) natural;
      (1) (2) suspicious;
      (2) (3) violent;
      (3) (4) accidental; or
      (4) (5) from an overdose.
   (b) As used in this section, "autopsy" means the external and
surgical internal examination of all body systems of a decedent,
including toxicology and histology.
   (c) Except as provided in subsection (d) (e) and IC 4-24-4-1, if an
Indiana resident dies in an Indiana county as a result of an incident that
occurred in another Indiana county, the county coroner where the death
occurred shall discuss whether an autopsy is warranted with contact
the coroner of the county where the incident occurred to discuss
whether an autopsy is needed. The coroner where the incident
occurred must respond to the coroner where the death occurred
not more than twenty-four (24) hours after being contacted to
discuss the need for an autopsy. If, after discussion, the coroners:
      (1) agree that an autopsy is needed:

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         (A) the coroner of the county in which the incident
         occurred is responsible for the cost of the autopsy,
         including the physician fee under section 6(e) of this
         chapter; and
         (B) the coroner of the county where the death occurred shall
         bill the county in which the incident occurred for the cost of
         the autopsy, including the physician fee under section 6(e) of
         this chapter. costs in clause (A) not later than one hundred
         eighty (180) days after the death occurred; or
      (2) disagree that an autopsy is needed, the coroner of the
      county that conducts the autopsy is responsible for the cost of
      the autopsy, including the physician fee under section 6(e) of
      this chapter except in the instance of a criminal case that
      could result in criminal charges in which the county where the
      incident occurred is responsible for the cost of the autopsy,
      including the physician fee under section 6(e) of this chapter.
   (d) If the coroner where the incident occurred fails to respond
to the coroner where the death occurred not more than
twenty-four (24) hours after being contacted under subsection (c)
to discuss whether an autopsy is needed:
      (1) the coroner where the death occurred may perform an
      autopsy, if the coroner believes that an autopsy is warranted;
      (2) the coroner of the county in which the incident occurred
      is responsible for the cost of the autopsy, including the
      physician fee under section 6(e) of this chapter; and
      (3) the coroner of the county where the death occurred shall
      bill the county in which the incident occurred for the costs in
      subdivision (2) not later than one hundred eighty (180) days
      after the death occurred.
   (d) (e) Except as provided in subsection (c) subsections (c) and (d)
and IC 4-24-4-1, payment for the costs of an autopsy requested by a
party other than the:
      (1) prosecuting attorney; or
      (2) county coroner;
of the county in which the individual died must be made by the party
requesting the autopsy.
   (e) (f) This section does not preclude the coroner of a county in
which a death occurs from attempting to recover autopsy costs from the
jurisdiction outside Indiana where the incident that caused the death
occurred.
   SECTION 2. IC 36-2-14-22.1, AS ADDED BY P.L.225-2007,
SECTION 19, IS AMENDED TO READ AS FOLLOWS [EFFECTIVE

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JANUARY 1, 2026]: Sec. 22.1. (a) As used in this section, "hospital"
refers to a hospital that is licensed under IC 16-21-2.

   (b) Upon the request of a coroner who is conducting or will conduct
a death investigation on an individual who is admitted or was admitted
to a hospital, the hospital shall provide a sample of the individual's
blood or tissue to the coroner.

   (c) A hospital shall have a blood retention protocol for the
preservation of the first sample of blood drawn for an individual
seeking treatment of emergency care services at an emergency
department of the hospital, regardless of whether the individual is
ultimately admitted to the hospital. The protocol shall include a
plan for:

      (1) when a patient is transferred to another hospital; and
      (2) notifying the laboratory for a requisition or order for
      whole blood sample analysis to indicate when a patient is:

         (A) treated for an injury that is suspicious, violent,
         accidental, or from an overdose; and
         (B) determined by a provider to be critically injured or
         mortally wounded at the time the patient seeks emergency
         care services at the emergency department.
   (d) A laboratory that receives an order for whole blood sample
analysis and the notification under subsection (c)(2) shall do the
following:
      (1) The laboratory shall hold the blood sample in storage until
      the earlier of the following:
         (A) The expiration of the twenty-one (21) day period
         beginning on the date that the sample of the patient's blood
         is drawn.
         (B) The date of the patient's discharge from the hospital.
         For purposes of this clause, the transfer of the patient to
         another hospital does not constitute a discharge.
         (C) The date of the patient's death.
      (2) This subdivision applies if:
         (A) the patient is transferred to another hospital; and
         (B) at the time of the transfer, the transferring hospital is
         still holding the first blood sample in storage in accordance
         with subdivision (1)(A).
      The transferring hospital laboratory shall hold the first blood
      sample in storage in accordance with subdivision (1)(A),
      unless the transferring hospital laboratory receives
      information from the receiving hospital that the patient has
      been discharged from the receiving hospital or has died.

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The requirements set forth in this subsection may be waived in any
case where the sample is tested and cannot be retained for reasons
of medical necessity in the clinical care of the patient.

   (b) (e) A coroner does not need to obtain a warrant to request a
blood or tissue sample under this section.

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Speaker of the House of Representatives

President of the Senate

President Pro Tempore

Governor of the State of Indiana

Date:                             Time:

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