PASSAGE OF THE DAY: "In 2011, the nonprofit reporting organization ProPublica found more than three dozen cases in which neglect, abuse and even murder of seniors in nursing homes had escaped the notice of authorities. The investigation, which relied heavily on autopsy reports, was part of a larger examination of shortcomings in the nation’s coroner and medical examiner offices."
STORY: "Bill Closing Autopsy
Records Will Be Modified," by reporter Cari Wade Gervin, published by
Nashville Scene on March 6, 2018.
SUB-HEADING: "It's unclear under
what circumstances autopsy records could remain sealed."
GIST: "A sponsor of controversial
legislation that seeks to seal autopsy records from the general public says he
plans to amend the legislation after the Tennessee Coalition for Open
Government and Knoxville News Sentinel
editor Jack McElroy raised questions about it over the weekend.
Rep. Eddie Smith (R-Knoxville) says he will not present the same version of the amendment to a caption bill that passed the House Health Subcommittee last week when it goes before the full Health Committee on Tuesday, and that he will request the bill be rolled one week. The Senate Health and Welfare Committee is set to discuss the legislation Wednesday; the Senate sponsor, Sen. Joey Hensley (R-Hoenwald), is a family physician who is also the Lewis County medical examiner. (He has also had his own breaches of medical ethics, sleeping with a patient, who was also his employee, who was also his second cousin). Under the amendment that passed last week, which you can read here, "the reports and documents produced or used by the county medical examiners shall be confidential and privileged documents and shall not be public records," with a handful of exceptions. This would apply to autopsy reports, toxicology reports, other medical records of deceased persons and photographs and videos of the body. According to TCOG, the county medical examiner for Knox and Anderson counties, Dr. Darinka Mileusnic-Polchan, asked Smith to sponsor the bill after trying to "close the records related to the death of a 5-day old baby who had a herpes infection passed along from the mother," because the mother was devastated by the death of the child and also did not want her herpes infection status to become public. (For the record, around 25 percent of women and 20 percent of men in America have genital herpes, so it's not necessarily something warranting top secrecy.) TCOG's Deborah Fisher continues: Not everything in forensics autopsy records done by the government are public now. The current law states that “[m]edical records of deceased persons, law enforcement investigative reports, and photographs, video and other images of deceased persons shall not be public records. ” But to Mileusnic-Polchan, that is not enough. She said that the forensics autopsies that are done under the state law for public health and public safety reasons should be treated the same as a hospital autopsies — as privileged information. She also said brutal homicides, suicides and death of elderly, including cases of abuse and neglect, as painful enough for families without having that information “out there.” She specifically mentioned the death of a young couple in Knoxville about a decade ago that was very brutal. She noted how hard it was for the family to endure the criminal trials in which how they died became public. “Why does it need to be out there in the public?” she asked. [Julia} Goodin, the state medical examiner, told the subcommittee that she supported the bill. “An autopsy is a medical procedure and therefore is a medical record and I agree with this bill.” It's understandable that some grieving families might not want the gruesome specifics of their loved ones' deaths plastered all over the media — but some other grieving families would never actually know what happened to their deceased relatives, as McElroy pointed out in his Sunday column: In 2015, News Sentinel reporter Jamie Satterfield used an autopsy report to disclose that a parolee was running away from a Knoxville police officer when shot. Authorities had said the officer was in a life-or-death struggle with the man. But the autopsy showed six gunshot wounds from behind, all but one from more than three feet away. The public won’t get to know that under Hensley and Smith's bill. Across the state and two decades earlier, Commercial Appeal reporter Marc Perrusquia used an autopsy report to reveal that a Memphis Police Department SWAT team shot a 7-year-old through the head during a botched raid at a public housing complex. Police had tried to cover up the incident. Such cover-ups will remain intact under Hensley and Smith's bill. ... In 2011, the nonprofit reporting organization ProPublica found more than three dozen cases in which neglect, abuse and even murder of seniors in nursing homes had escaped the notice of authorities. The investigation, which relied heavily on autopsy reports, was part of a larger examination of shortcomings in the nation’s coroner and medical examiner offices. In Tennessee, Hensley and Smith's bill will make sure that information is kept from citizens. But Smith now says the bill will be narrowed, although he does have the exact wording set. He says he hopes the language will be worked out by the Senate hearing on Wednesday; if not, it will be rolled there too.Smith says his biggest concern is to make sure that any hereditary medical information that is not related to the cause of death is kept sealed — although that would not apply to instances like the mother with herpes above, as the herpes was the cause of death. "I think someone who is going through a loss should not have to petition the court to have that information sealed, but that others should have to petition the court to have it opened," Smith says. But as Fisher points out in a phone call, the only autopsies subject to public record are those ordered — and paid for — by the government, such as in cases of homicides, suspicious deaths or certain infant deaths, as required by law. "To wholesale make those confidential loses any government accountability," Fisher says. "You would lose any oversight at all over county medical examiners. Fisher also says she has heard of no instances of family privacy being compromised, and that current law already protects any medical records a medical examiner might request during the course of an autopsy from being released when the autopsy is released. "There are so many problems with this proposal, as written," Fisher says.""
Rep. Eddie Smith (R-Knoxville) says he will not present the same version of the amendment to a caption bill that passed the House Health Subcommittee last week when it goes before the full Health Committee on Tuesday, and that he will request the bill be rolled one week. The Senate Health and Welfare Committee is set to discuss the legislation Wednesday; the Senate sponsor, Sen. Joey Hensley (R-Hoenwald), is a family physician who is also the Lewis County medical examiner. (He has also had his own breaches of medical ethics, sleeping with a patient, who was also his employee, who was also his second cousin). Under the amendment that passed last week, which you can read here, "the reports and documents produced or used by the county medical examiners shall be confidential and privileged documents and shall not be public records," with a handful of exceptions. This would apply to autopsy reports, toxicology reports, other medical records of deceased persons and photographs and videos of the body. According to TCOG, the county medical examiner for Knox and Anderson counties, Dr. Darinka Mileusnic-Polchan, asked Smith to sponsor the bill after trying to "close the records related to the death of a 5-day old baby who had a herpes infection passed along from the mother," because the mother was devastated by the death of the child and also did not want her herpes infection status to become public. (For the record, around 25 percent of women and 20 percent of men in America have genital herpes, so it's not necessarily something warranting top secrecy.) TCOG's Deborah Fisher continues: Not everything in forensics autopsy records done by the government are public now. The current law states that “[m]edical records of deceased persons, law enforcement investigative reports, and photographs, video and other images of deceased persons shall not be public records. ” But to Mileusnic-Polchan, that is not enough. She said that the forensics autopsies that are done under the state law for public health and public safety reasons should be treated the same as a hospital autopsies — as privileged information. She also said brutal homicides, suicides and death of elderly, including cases of abuse and neglect, as painful enough for families without having that information “out there.” She specifically mentioned the death of a young couple in Knoxville about a decade ago that was very brutal. She noted how hard it was for the family to endure the criminal trials in which how they died became public. “Why does it need to be out there in the public?” she asked. [Julia} Goodin, the state medical examiner, told the subcommittee that she supported the bill. “An autopsy is a medical procedure and therefore is a medical record and I agree with this bill.” It's understandable that some grieving families might not want the gruesome specifics of their loved ones' deaths plastered all over the media — but some other grieving families would never actually know what happened to their deceased relatives, as McElroy pointed out in his Sunday column: In 2015, News Sentinel reporter Jamie Satterfield used an autopsy report to disclose that a parolee was running away from a Knoxville police officer when shot. Authorities had said the officer was in a life-or-death struggle with the man. But the autopsy showed six gunshot wounds from behind, all but one from more than three feet away. The public won’t get to know that under Hensley and Smith's bill. Across the state and two decades earlier, Commercial Appeal reporter Marc Perrusquia used an autopsy report to reveal that a Memphis Police Department SWAT team shot a 7-year-old through the head during a botched raid at a public housing complex. Police had tried to cover up the incident. Such cover-ups will remain intact under Hensley and Smith's bill. ... In 2011, the nonprofit reporting organization ProPublica found more than three dozen cases in which neglect, abuse and even murder of seniors in nursing homes had escaped the notice of authorities. The investigation, which relied heavily on autopsy reports, was part of a larger examination of shortcomings in the nation’s coroner and medical examiner offices. In Tennessee, Hensley and Smith's bill will make sure that information is kept from citizens. But Smith now says the bill will be narrowed, although he does have the exact wording set. He says he hopes the language will be worked out by the Senate hearing on Wednesday; if not, it will be rolled there too.Smith says his biggest concern is to make sure that any hereditary medical information that is not related to the cause of death is kept sealed — although that would not apply to instances like the mother with herpes above, as the herpes was the cause of death. "I think someone who is going through a loss should not have to petition the court to have that information sealed, but that others should have to petition the court to have it opened," Smith says. But as Fisher points out in a phone call, the only autopsies subject to public record are those ordered — and paid for — by the government, such as in cases of homicides, suspicious deaths or certain infant deaths, as required by law. "To wholesale make those confidential loses any government accountability," Fisher says. "You would lose any oversight at all over county medical examiners. Fisher also says she has heard of no instances of family privacy being compromised, and that current law already protects any medical records a medical examiner might request during the course of an autopsy from being released when the autopsy is released. "There are so many problems with this proposal, as written," Fisher says.""
The entire story can be found at:
PUBLISHER'S NOTE: I am
monitoring this case/issue. Keep your eye on the Charles Smith Blog for reports
on developments. The Toronto Star, my previous employer for more than twenty
incredible years, has put considerable effort into exposing the harm caused by
Dr. Charles Smith and his protectors - and into pushing for reform of Ontario's
forensic pediatric pathology system. The Star has a "topic" section
which focuses on recent stories related to Dr. Charles Smith. It can be found
at: http://www.thestar.com/topic/charlessmith.
Information on "The Charles Smith Blog Award"- and its nomination
process - can be found at: http://smithforensic.blogspot.com/2011/05/charles-smith-blog-award-nominations.html
Please send any comments or information on other cases and issues of
interest to the readers of this blog to: hlevy15@gmail.com. Harold Levy; Publisher; The
Charles Smith Blog.
