Widow Prompts Autopsy Reform

In 2004, Jerry Carswell unexpectedly died after beingadmitted to Christus St. Catherine Hospital in Katy, Texas for kidneystones.  Due to an incomplete autopsy,Carswell’s death remains unknown and his widow, Linda, still waits to receivehis heart back, which currently sits in a pathologist’s lab.

Autopsies have become increasingly rare with an autopsybeing conducted in only five percent of hospital deaths.  However, many grief-stricken familiesdesperately want answers that an autopsy may provide, and all too often thesefamilies don’t know their rights when dealing with coroners, medical examiners,and health-care providers.

Because Linda Carswell felt she had not been informed of herrights immediately following her husband’s death, she teamed up with TexasRepresentative Bill Callegari to introduce the Jerry Carswell MemorialAct.  Texas hospitals are now required to use a standardizedautopsy consent form spelling out the rights of families following the death ofa loved one in a medical facility.  Thisform details “the circumstances under which a medical examiner is required toconduct an investigation; that, in cases not taken by a medical examiner,survivors have a right to have an independent pathologist conduct a clinicalautopsy; that the family has a right to place special limitations on theexamination; and that the person giving consent for the autopsy controls therelease of the remains.”

See MarshallAllen, Why Can’t Linda Carswell Get HerHusband’s Heart Back?, ProPublica, Dec. 15, 2011.