A Grant County resident died in a car crash in Codington County. The Codington County coroner ordered an autopsy. Which county had to pay the pathologist's $610 bill: the county where the person lived, or the county where they died and the autopsy was ordered?

Plain-English summary

A Grant County resident drove his car off the road in Watertown (Codington County) on November 26, 1986, hit a foundation, and died. The Codington County coroner ordered an autopsy. A Sioux Falls pathologist did the work and sent a $610 bill to Codington County. The Codington County State's Attorney, Roger Ellyson, asked AG Roger Tellinghuisen which county had to pay: Codington (where the death happened and the autopsy was ordered) or Grant (where the decedent lived).

The AG's answer was Codington. SDCL 23-14-9.1 allowed a state's attorney or coroner to order an autopsy in the circumstances it specified, including a suspected unlawful death in the officer's jurisdiction. SDCL 23-14-9.2 then required the physician's "reasonable fee" to be "ascertained and approved by the board of county commissioners and paid out of the general fund of the county." The AG concluded that Codington County should pay for the autopsy its coroner ordered.

The opinion resolves which of the two counties named in the request should pay this autopsy bill. It does not address claims against the decedent's estate or reimbursement arrangements between counties.

Currency note

This opinion was issued in 1987. 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. The coroner statutes in SDCL chapter 23-14 may have been amended since 1987. Current cost-allocation rules should be confirmed against the present version of SDCL 23-14-9.2 and any successor statutes.

What the opinion meant at the time

For state's attorneys and coroners, the opinion quotes SDCL 23-14-9.1's conditions for ordering an autopsy and SDCL 23-14-9.2's rule for paying a physician's reasonable fee from the county general fund.

For pathologists doing forensic autopsy work for South Dakota counties, the opinion gave a clear answer about which county to bill: the county whose coroner sent the order, not the decedent's home county.

For county commissioners, the opinion quotes SDCL 23-14-9.2's requirement that they ascertain and approve the physician's reasonable fee. It does not decide what grounds a board may use to dispute an autopsy bill.

For families, the answer is limited to Codington County's payment responsibility as compared with Grant County's. The opinion does not decide whether an estate could face a separate claim.

Common questions

Q: What about jurisdiction over the death itself?
A: The opinion quotes SDCL 23-14-9.1's language about a person who may have died "in his jurisdiction" by unlawful means and its separate reference to deaths within the county coroner's jurisdiction. It does not analyze a disputed jurisdictional boundary.

Q: When could a coroner order an autopsy?
A: The opinion quotes SDCL 23-14-9.1: a coroner may order an autopsy on reason to believe a person died in the coroner's jurisdiction by unlawful means, or, if in the public interest, for deaths within that jurisdiction mentioned in subdivisions (1) through (5) of § 23-14-18. It does not reproduce those subdivisions.

Q: Did the home county have any recourse?
A: The opinion does not address recourse or reimbursement between counties. It answers only that Codington County should pay for the autopsy its coroner ordered, rather than Grant County.

Q: What if the coroner was also the pathologist?
A: SDCL 23-14-9.2 specifically addressed that case: "If the coroner is a physician or surgeon, he may personally perform such autopsy; and he shall receive a reasonable fee for his services to be ascertained and approved by the board of county commissioners and paid out of the general fund of the county."

Q: Could the county refuse to pay if it disagreed with the coroner's decision to order the autopsy?
A: The opinion does not decide that dispute. It quotes SDCL 23-14-9.2's requirement that a physician or surgeon appointed under SDCL 23-14-9.1 receive a reasonable fee ascertained and approved by the county commissioners, then concludes that Codington County should pay this bill.

Background and statutory framework

The opinion cites SDCL 34-26-2 and 34-26-7 for authority to dissect a body pursuant to an autopsy ordered by a state's attorney or investigating coroner. It quotes SDCL 23-14-9.1 for when an autopsy may be ordered and SDCL 23-14-9.2 for the physician's fee.

In the stated facts, a Sioux Falls pathologist performed the autopsy and submitted a $610 bill to Codington County. The AG was asked whether Codington or Grant County was responsible.

The opinion mentions subdivisions (1) through (5) of § 23-14-18 as one basis for a coroner to order an autopsy when it is in the public interest. It does not describe those categories or analyze the reason this particular autopsy was ordered.

The Codington County coroner ordered the autopsy after a Grant County resident died in Watertown. The pathologist billed Codington, and the AG concluded that Codington should pay.

Citations and references

Statutes:

• SDCL 23-14-9.1 (authority to order autopsy)
• SDCL 23-14-9.2 (county pays autopsy fee from general fund)
• § 23-14-18 (deaths subject to coroner investigation)
• SDCL 34-26-2, 34-26-7 (dissection authority)

Source

• Landing page: https://atg.sd.gov/OurOffice/OfficialOpinions/opinionhtml.aspx?id=161

Original opinion text

Coroner costs

Dear Mr. Ellyson:

You have requested an official opinion from this Office in regard to the following factual situation.

FACTS

A Grant County resident drove his automobile off the road and into a foundation in Watertown, Codington County, South Dakota, on November 26, 1986. The driver was killed. The Codington County coroner ordered an autopsy to be performed.

A pathologist in Sioux Falls performed the autopsy at a cost of $610. The doctor has submitted a bill to Codington County for his services.

Based on the above facts, you have asked the following question:

QUESTION:

Which county is responsible for the costs of the autopsy - Codington or Grant County?

Your question may best be answered by an examination of two factors. First, we must determine who may order an autopsy and under what circumstances an autopsy is justified. Second, we must determine who is required to pay for the autopsy.

The dead body of a human being may be dissected pursuant to an autopsy if ordered by the state's attorney or an investigating county coroner. SDCL 34-26-2, 34-26-7. The authority to order an autopsy is set forth in SDCL 23-14-9.1, which provides that:

If a state's attorney or a coroner has reason to believe that a deceased person may have died in his jurisdiction by unlawful means, either of them may order and direct a physician or surgeon to perform an autopsy. If in the public interest, the county coroner may order an autopsy on those deaths falling within his jurisdiction mentioned in subdivisions (1) to (5), inclusive, of § 23-14-18.

It is therefore clear that a state's attorney or county coroner may order an autopsy in appropriate circumstances.

Payment of autopsy fees is governed by SDCL 23-14-9.2. This statute provides that:

A physician or surgeon appointed under § 23-14-9.1 shall receive a reasonable fee for his services to be ascertained and approved by the board of county commissioners and paid out of the general fund of the county. If the coroner is a physician or surgeon, he may personally perform such autopsy; and he shall receive a reasonable fee for his services to be ascertained and approved by the board of county commissioners and paid out of the general fund of the county...

Therefore, it is my opinion that Codington County should pay for the autopsy ordered by the Codington County coroner.

Sincerely,

Roger A. Tellinghuisen

ATTORNEY GENERAL