Office of the Medical Examiner

The Medical Examiner's Office, a 24-hour on-call service, serves the living by investigating sudden, violent, unexpected, and suspicious deaths which occur in Washtenaw County. The office is a division of the Public Health Department and reports to the Health Officer. The office personnel includes medical examiners, who are medical doctors specializing in the science of forensic pathology, medical investigators, autopsy assistants, and administrative support staff.

The Chief Medical Examiner is a physician certified in forensic pathology, authorized by Washtenaw County, Michigan, to investigate sudden unexpected, violent, suspicious, or unnatural deaths. The laws of the State of Michigan assigns the responsibility for determining the cause and manner of unexpected deaths in each county to the Medical Examiner. In Washtenaw County the Chief Medical Examiner is Dr. Bader J. Cassin. Dr. Cassin accepts this responsibility with full commitment to a consistent high quality service, which is recognized as a model throughout the State.

Every reported death is investigated thoroughtly, frequently with cooperation of law enforcement agencies and health care personnel in Washtenaw County as well as around the State of Michigan. Because Washtenaw County is a principal medical referral center, our inquiries often lead necessarily to distant sources of information regarding causes of injury. The results of these death investigations provide valuable information, which is used in professional education and by the criminal justice system, public health departments, families of the deceased, and other concerned persons. 

While the Medical Examiner staff of investigators, physicians and support persons is primarily concerned with the circumstances surrounding unexpected deaths, our concern for the living is reflected in our regular reviews of all childhood deaths with concerned and involved state and county agencies, as well as our reviews of all deaths of persons receiving community mental health services. Staff members likewise donate many hours to professional and local public education programs for injury investigation, care and prevention.

The purpose of the Medical Examiner's Office is to bring trained medical evaluation to the investigation of deaths that are of concern to the public health, safety, and welfare of the community. Accurate investigation and determination of cause and manner of death are essential to our society for the following reasons:

Michigan law also requires, in the interest of public health and safety, the reporting to the Medical Examiner of all deaths of persons in the following circumstances:

Deaths which should be reported to the Medical Examiner include:

• All those which result, either directly or indirectly from injury, whether by accident or intended, self‑inflicted or caused by another person. Injury includes poisoning and drug ingestion or injection. The interval (passage of time) between the injury and the death, whether it be minutes or months, does not change the requirement for reporting the death.
  
  
• Unexpected and unexplained deaths of persons presumed to have been in good health or for whom no history of serious medical problems or progressive primary disease is known should also be reported to the Medical Examiner.

Washtenaw County maintains a contract with Huron Valley Ambulance to provide administrative support to the medical examiner’s office. In addition, Huron Valley Ambulance also provides highly trained death investigators, as well as autopsy assistants to the medical examiner’s office. Administrative and investigative offices for the medical examiner are located in the Huron Valley Ambulance offices at 2215 Hogback Road, Ann Arbor, MI 48105.

Recruitment:

Periodically, medical examiner investigators and autopsy assistants are added to our staff. Most positions are currently part-time, and on-call work schedules are made to allow for other commitments. Preferred candidates for these positions have education/employment in some aspect of acute health care, with interest and commitment the primary attributes. Those who believe that they qualify for these positions are encouraged to contact the medical examiner’s office to inquire about application and training.

This page last updated 7/1/08