Medical Examiner

The Medical Examiner Program brings 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:

  • Innocent persons will be exonerated
  • Murder will be recognized
  • Criminal and civil court proceedings will receive sound, documented, and impartial medical evidence
  • Industrial and unrecognized hazards to public health will be exposed

Overview of the Lenawee/Hillsdale Medical Examiner's Office

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 Lenawee and Hillsdale Counties. The office personnel include medical examiners, who are medical doctors specializing in the science of forensic pathology, medical investigators, autopsy assistants, and administrative support staff.


Chief Medical Examiner

The Chief Medical Examiner is a physician certified in forensic pathology, authorized by Lenawee and Hillsdale Counties to investigate sudden, unexpected, violent, suspicious, or unnatural deaths. The laws of the State of Michigan assign the responsibility for determining the cause and manner of unexpected deaths in each county to the Medical Examiner. In Lenawee and Hillsdale Counties the Chief Medical Examiner is John C. Maino II, MD. Dr. Maino accepts the responsibility with full commitment to a consistent high quality service.


Responsibilities

Every reported death is investigated thoroughly, frequently with the cooperation of law enforcement agencies and health care personnel. 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 support for tissue and organ donations through the Gift of Life program, to provide lifesaving specimen to those individuals waiting for a chance to live a normal life.