The bill specifies that an autopsy report prepared in connection
with the death of a minor is confidential and may be disclosed by the county coroner to another person or entity only in accordance with certain exceptions.
Under the bill, the coroner or the coroner's designee may only provide a copy of the autopsy report prepared in connection with the death of a minor to:
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A parent or legal guardian of the deceased;
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A law enforcement or criminal justice agency;
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A requesting party in a civil case;
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Counsel for the defendant or the respondent for discovery purposes in a criminal case;
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A law enforcement agency that is investigating the death;
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A state, local, or regional child fatality prevention review team;
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The Colorado department of public health and environment as necessary for the collection of data in accordance with the Colorado violent death reporting system;
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The Colorado child fatality review team;
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A county department of human or social services;
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The division of youth services in the Colorado department of human services;
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A health-care facility where the deceased had received treatment;
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A community clinic or a treating hospital for inclusion within the medical records of the deceased;
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An eye bank, organ procurement organization, or a tissue bank;
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A local or regional domestic violence fatality review team;
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The Colorado department of human services in connection with the investigation of a fatality that has occurred within any facility licensed under the child care licensing act;
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The office of the child protection ombudsman; or
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A health-care provider that had previously established a patient-provider relationship with the deceased.
Upon written request, the coroner shall not release a copy of the
autopsy report and instead shall release the cause, time, place, and manner of the minor's death and the age, gender, and race or ethnicity of the deceased minor. This information must be released within 3 days of the request or 3 days of receiving the information, whichever is later.
Under the bill, any person may petition a district court to allow the
person access to an autopsy report prepared in connection with the death of a minor. The district court shall provide access if:
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Public disclosure of the report substantially outweighs the harm to the privacy interests of the deceased and members of the family of the deceased; and
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The information sought by the petitioner is not otherwise publicly available. 1
