MI SB0457

County medical examiners may establish an elderly and vulnerable adult death review team to review unexpected or suspicious deaths of elderly and vulnerable adults, with participation from medical examiners, physicians, law enforcement, prosecutors, and adult protective services representatives.

County medical examiners must investigate deaths occurring by violence, unexpectedly, without physician attendance in the 48 hours before death, or as a result of abortion, and may request circuit court subpoenas for medical records related to investigations.

Physicians, hospital administrators, and others with knowledge of sudden, unexpected, accidental, violent, or suspicious deaths must immediately notify the county medical examiner, including cases involving multiple similarly-described individuals in the same incident.

Medical records and documents obtained by county medical examiners during death investigations are exempt from disclosure under the Freedom of Information Act.

Information obtained by elderly and vulnerable adult death review teams is confidential and may only be shared with the county medical examiner, county prosecutor, law enforcement, or other elder death review teams.