Santa Clara County Coroner

We obtain and read the coroner reports for you

The Santa Clara County Medical Examiner produces the records that form the factual spine of a wrongful death case: the investigation report, the autopsy report, and the toxicology results. Families are frequently told to call back, and told again, by an office that is not set up to explain itself to someone who is grieving.

We make the request, acquire the reports, and read them for you. That lets us convey what they say in a respectful and humane way, and it costs you nothing. The offer does not require you to hire this firm.

These reports should not be read by the friends and family of the person who died. They are clinical documents written for investigators, not for the people who loved someone. There is nothing in them that a family needs to see firsthand, and there is a great deal in them that is difficult to unsee. Let us read them and tell you what matters.

What to expect on timing

An investigation report is often available within a few weeks. The autopsy report usually follows. Toxicology is the slow step and can take two to three months, sometimes longer, and the final report is generally not released until it is complete.

Where the death is tied to a criminal case, expect much longer. Records held as part of an active prosecution are routinely withheld for six months to a year, and sometimes until the case concludes. That delay is normal and it is not a sign that anything is wrong. It is also not a reason to wait: the civil deadlines keep running while the records sit, and a claim against a government agency can expire in as little as six months.

The body will be held for as long as the investigation requires, which means funeral arrangements have to work around the coroner rather than the other way around. If the delay is causing a specific problem, say so when you call, offices can sometimes accommodate.

If the finding seems wrong

A coroner’s determination of manner of death is a professional opinion formed quickly, sometimes without information the family has. A finding of accident where the facts support negligence, or of suicide where the circumstances suggest otherwise, is not the end of the inquiry. It can be revisited, and it can be challenged with evidence.