Milton Helpern, Chief Medical Examiner, New York City, poses for the cover of Modern Medicine magazine, April 12, 1965
Helpern (1902-1977) received his M.D. from Cornell University in 1926, joined the staff of the New York City Medical Examiner's Office in 1931, and taught forensic pathology at New York University. In 1954 he became the city's chief medical examiner. During his long career, he performed thousands of autopsies and was internationally recognized as an expert in forensic medicine.
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Coroner vs. medical examiner
Definitions
Medical examiner: An appointed medically qualified officer whose duty is to investigate deaths and bodily injuries that occur under unusual or suspicious circumstances, to perform post-mortems, and sometimes to initiate inquests.
Coroner: [related to Anglo-French corouner, from coroune, meaning crown]: An officer of a county, district, state, or municipality; originally, in medieval England, an official who upheld the monarch's rights of private property. From the 16th and 17th centuries on, the chief duty of the coroner was to hold inquests on the bodies of those believed to have died by violence or accident, or who suffered grievous bodily harm. In modern times, in the United States, the coroner is an elected official.
For more historical information, see "Coroner," Encyclopedia Britannica, 1911 ed..
Coroner
- Origin: England, 12th century; brought to North America in the 1600s
- In Britain, either elected or appointed by the Crown, until 1888, when it was made appointive by local council. In the United States, an elected local official; runs for office, often as a member of a political party
- Term of office (in the U.S.): Two to four years
- Qualifications: Citizenship, residence; no medical training required
- Duties: To convene an inquest or inquisition with a jury, to investigate the death of a person
- that occurred due to criminal violence, poisoning, suicide, accident, negligence, disease constituting a public health threat, or
- that occurred unexpectedly, in suspicious circumstances, or
- that occurred while that person was in government custody, undergoing a medical procedure, or unattended by a physician, or
- whose body is to be cremated, dissected, or buried at sea
Medical examiner
- Origin: France and Scotland; brought to the United States in the late 1800s
- Appointed local or state official; expected to be nonpartisan
- Term of office: Serves continuously; can only be removed for cause
- Qualifications: Medical degree, with training and certification in forensic pathology
- Duties: To officially investigate the death of a person
- that occurred due to criminal violence, poisoning, suicide, accident, negligence, or disease constituting a public health threat, or
- that occurred unexpectedly, in suspicious circumstances, or
- that occurred while that person was in government custody, undergoing a medical procedure, or unattended by a physician, or
- whose body is to be cremated, dissected, or buried at sea
