Did a Louisiana parish or municipality pay the coroner's fees and autopsy costs?

Plain-English summary

The Concordia Parish Police Jury asked whether the parish had to pay every bill its coroner sent for autopsies, screens, commitments, and transporting deceased people, including cases connected with municipalities. The Louisiana Attorney General did not assign all bills to one government. Instead, it applied R.S. 33:1556 to each death: for natural causes, the deceased person's domicile determined the parish or municipality responsible; for an accident or crime, the location of that event determined the payer.

The quoted statute also gave a separate rule for the fees of a coroner who initially viewed a body or investigated a death in the parish where it occurred: the parish or municipality where the death occurred paid those fees. The opinion mentioned earlier suggestions for cooperative funding of a coroner's work, but its answer to this request was to evaluate each bill under the statute. It did not separately resolve how the listed commitment or screening bills should be classified.

Currency note

This opinion was issued in 2005. Subsequent statutory amendments, court decisions, or later AG opinions may have changed the analysis. Treat this page as historical context, not current legal advice. Verify current law before relying on any specific rule, deadline, or remedy mentioned here.

Common questions

Who paid for a coroner's work after a death from natural causes? A: Under the statute quoted in the opinion, the municipality where the deceased was domiciled paid, or the parish paid if the domicile was outside a municipality.

Who paid after a death involving an accident or crime? A: The AG quoted a rule assigning coroner fees and expenses to the municipality where the accident or crime occurred, or to the parish if it occurred outside a municipality.

Did the place where the coroner first examined the body matter? A: Yes. If the coroner of the parish where death occurred initially viewed the body or investigated the death, the opinion quoted R.S. 33:1556(D)(1) as assigning those particular fees to the parish or municipality where death occurred.

Was the parish responsible for every coroner bill just because it had the coroner's office? A: No. The AG said each situation had to be tested against the statutory rules for cause of death and location; it did not adopt a blanket parish-payment rule.

Background and statutory framework

The police jury reported that its coroner submitted a range of bills to the parish, while municipalities disputed their own responsibility. The AG quoted R.S. 33:1556(D)(1) and (E). Both provisions tied the main costs of investigating and transporting the deceased to domicile for natural deaths or to the accident or crime location for other deaths. Subsection (D)(1) separately addressed initial viewing or investigation by the coroner where death occurred.

Citations

• R.S. 33:1556(D)(1) (coroner fees, investigation, autopsy, transport, and initial viewing).
• R.S. 33:1556(E) (payer by cause of death and domicile or event location).

Source

• Landing page: https://www.ag.state.la.us/Opinions
• Original PDF: https://www.ag.state.la.us/Opinion/Download/05-0062

Original opinion text

April 20, 2005
OPINION 05-0062
13-Coroners- Compensation
& Fees- General
R.S. 33:1556
The responsibility for payments
Mr. Russell Wagoner
to the coroner depends upon the
Secretary, Concordia
the cause of death as natural,
Parish Police Jury
accidental or criminal, and the
4001 Carter Street
location of the death to determine
Room 1
whether the parish or municipality
Vidalia, LA 71373
is responsible.

Dear Mr. Wagoner:

This office is in receipt of your request for an opinion of the Attorney General in regard to bills of the parish coroner. You indicate at this time the coroner forwards all bills for any autopsies, drug and alcohol screens, commitments, and/or transportation of deceased to the parish. However, you believe that the responsibility of any deaths or commitments from a municipality would be upon that respective municipality and not the parish police jury, although the municipalities say the coroner is employed by the parish who should pay the bills associated with his office.

Accordingly, you ask for an opinion of this office on this matter.

In Atty. Gen. Op. 02-117 this office considered responsibility of the coroner’s payment of services relative to a tri-parish program for a rape investigation which included expenses for an emergency room, rape kit, laboratory fee and other reasonable diagnostic procedures. Therein it was noted that Atty. Gen. Op. 89-78 concluded that if the examination occurs in a city hospital the municipality must pay. The opinion also noted that in Atty. Gen. Op. 94-499 we concluded a coroner may charge the parish government for examinations of all alleged rape victims under police investigation, but if a city hospital was involved, the municipality must pay the fee for the examination.

However, in Atty. Gen. Op. 02-117 it was further noted that in Atty. Gen. Op. 99-381 it had been found inasmuch as the coroner had his professional office and performed many of his compensable duties within the municipality, this placed an inequitable burden upon the municipality in which the office was situated. It was then found the best solution for all would be some type of cooperative endeavor for all of the governing authorities to pay some portion of the compensation of the coroner whereby all political subdivisions would concur in a joint responsibility to pay all the fees.

Page 2

Mr. Russell Wagoner
OPINION 05-0062
Page 2

Following the reasoning of these earlier opinions, this office then concluded, “Similarly, perhaps some cooperative endeavor by the tri-parishes involved could be developed to cover the situation of your concern.”

We find R.S. 33:1556(D)(1) pertinent to your question wherein it provides as follows:

The parish or municipality in which the deceased was domiciled, in the case of a death due to natural causes, or the parish or municipality in which the accident or crime occurred, in the case of a death due to other than natural causes, shall pay the coroner’s fees and any necessary fees for the investigation and the cost of any autopsy including cost of transporting the body. However, if the coroner of the parish in which the death occurred initially viewed the body or investigated the death, the fees of such viewing or investigation shall be paid to him by the parish or municipality in which the death occurred.

Also, R.S. 33:1556(E) is significant which is as follows:

When a death occurs and the death was due to natural causes, the coroner’s fees and expenses, including the cost of transporting the body, shall be paid by the municipality in which the deceased was domiciled or by the parish if the deceased was domiciled in the parish outside of a municipality. When a death occurs and the death was due to other than natural causes, the coroner’s fees and expenses including the cost or transporting the body shall be paid by the municipality in which the crime or accident occurred or by the parish if the crime occurred in the parish outside of a municipality.

Accordingly, we must conclude each situation must be considered in light of the provisions as quoted hereinabove to determine whether the parish or municipality is responsible for bills of the coroner.

We hope this sufficiently answers your inquiry, but if we can be of further assistance, do not hesitate to contact us.

Very truly yours,

CHARLES C. FOTI, JR.
ATTORNEY GENERAL

By:____
BARBARA B. RUTLEDGE
CCF,JR/bbr
Assistant Attorney General

Page 3

Mr. Russell Wagoner
OPINION 05-0062
Page 3

OPINION -05-0062

13 – Coroners – Compensation
& Fees –General
R.S. 33:1556

The responsibility for payments
to the coroner depends upon
the cause of death as natural,
accidental or criminal, and the
location of the death to determine
whether the parish or municipality
is responsible.

Mr. Russell Wagoner
Secretary, Concordia
Parish Police Jury
4001 Carter Street
Room 1
Vidalia, LA 71373

Date Received:
Date Released: April 20, 2005

BARBARA B. RUTLEDGE
ASSISTANT ATTORNEY GENERAL