South Carolina Requires Notice to Families of Deaths from Medical Errors

A new state law designed to notify families of those who die within 24 hours of hospital admittance and invasive surgery is increasing the call volume for some coroner’s investigators.

The Ann S. Perdue Independent Autopsy Fairness Act was named for a Chesterfield County woman who died in 2004 due to a medical error, according to Perdue’s family. Perdue’s family — including her nephew, State Rep. Ted Vick — championed the bill, which requires county coroners or medical examiners to be notified if a patient dies within 24 hours after being admitted to a hospital and within 24 hours following an invasive surgical procedure.

The coroner or medical examiner then opens an inquiry into the death, interviews medical staff and family members and advises the family of their option to have an autopsy performed at their expense. If the family wishes to pursue an autopsy, it is performed at another medical facility than where their loved one died.

Spartanburg County Coroner Rusty Clevenger said his office has responded to 385 calls (through Friday). Of those, 52 calls were in direct result of the new law. Otherwise, Clevenger said, his office has responded to five fewer homicides and five fewer suicides than during the same period last year. The number of natural deaths, he said, has increased.

Clevenger said he or one of his deputy coroners opens an inquiry after a medical facility notifies him of a death, within the guidelines of the new law.

“We haven’t added any new staff,” he said. “But we’re strained now. We have five full-time coroners and four reserves that work under them, and depending on the number of calls we get, we could — in the future — need more investigators.”

Clevenger emphasized that County Council has been supportive of his office and he sees no immediate need for more staff.

The coroner said it’s hard to estimate how many calls his investigators will answer in a given year, which makes it difficult to determine when — and whether — new staff will be needed.

Clevenger said that when medical staff are interviewed following a death, they have been forthright about whether a medical error occurred. A family could use the coroner’s inquiry to file a wrongful death lawsuit, if they choose.

Cherokee County Coroner Dennis Fowler said he’s aware of the new law and intends to comply.

“We have a wonderful working relationship with the hospitals that we deal with the most, and everybody’s on the same page,” Fowler said.

Fowler said he’s had only a couple of additional calls in direct response to the new law and his office normally responds to about 200 unnatural deaths and an additional 100 natural (hospice) deaths annually.