Roles and Responsibilities
Medical Examiner
A medical examiner is medical doctor that uses their medical expertise to determine why and how someone died. They oversee the postmortem examinations and testing. They differ from a coroner, who does not have to be a medical doctor and is elected.
Medicolegal Death Investigator
The medicolegal death investigator investigates any death that falls under the jurisdiction of the medical examiner or coroner. This includes all suspicious, violent, unexplained and unexpected deaths.
They are responsible for the dead person, whereas the local law enforcement jurisdiction is responsible for the scene. They perform scene investigations, emphasizing information developed from the decedent, and determine if further investigation is needed.
More Information
American Board of Medicolegal Death Investigators
Contact Us
Multnomah County Medical Examiner’s Office
619 NW 6th Ave, 4th Floor (Map)
Portland, OR 97209
503-988-0055
503-988-4588 fax
medical.examiner@multco.us
Hours by appointment
For Media: Email pressoffice@multco.us. The Medical Examiner’s Office will not respond to individual media inquiries.