What is the difference between a Medical Examiner and a Coroner?
Medical examiners and coroners are two different groups that provide a similar service to their communities. Coroners are part of an older system whose origins date back to England many centuries ago, and are usually elected lay individuals. Coroners contract with physicians to provide autopsies and medical expertise to support their investigations. In contrast, the medical examiner system is an American creation approximately a century old. Medical examiners are almost always appointed to their positions, and should be physicians with training in medicolegal death investigation.
A Medical Examiner is a forensic pathologist (Medical Doctor) with particular expertise in investigating violent, sudden and unexpected, suspicious or unattended deaths. A Coroner is an elected or appointed public officer whose chief duty is to determine causes of death. Historically, the Coroner system has been coupled with the Sheriff’s Department in most counties in California, who then subcontract to licensed Forensic Pathologists to perform the county’s autopsies. A few of the larger, more populated counties throughout the state have adopted the Medical Examiner system. San Diego County had a Coroner System until March 31, 1990, when it was replaced by the current Medical Examiner System.
