(A) The coroner, any deputy coroner, an investigator appointed pursuant to section 313.05 of the Revised Code, or any other person the coroner designates as having the authority to act under this section may go to the dead body and take charge of it. Whether and when an autopsy is performed shall be determined under sections 313.121 and 313.131 of the Revised Code. If an autopsy is performed by the coroner, deputy coroner, or pathologists, a detailed description of the observations written during the progress of such autopsy, or as soon after such autopsy as reasonably possible, and the conclusions drawn from the observations shall be filed in the office of the coroner.
(B) If the office of the coroner is notified that a person who was the operator of a motor vehicle that was involved in an accident or crash was killed in the accident or crash or died as a result of injuries suffered in it, the coroner, deputy coroner, or pathologist shall go to the dead body and take charge of it and administer a chemical test to the blood of the deceased person to determine the alcohol, drug, or alcohol and drug content of the blood. This division does not authorize the coroner, deputy coroner, or pathologist to perform an autopsy, and does not affect and shall not be construed as affecting the provisions of section 313.131 of the Revised Code that govern the determination of whether and when an autopsy is to be performed.
Notes of Decisions
Cited in 12
cases (2 in the last 5 years), 1986–2026 · leading case: Brotherton v. Cleveland, 141 F. Supp. 2d 894 (S.D. Ohio 2001).
Brotherton v. Cleveland, 141 F. Supp. 2d 894 (S.D. Ohio 2001). · cites it 4ד(B) A county coroner who performs an autopsy pursuant to section 313.13 of the Revised Code may remove one or both corneas of the decedent, or a coroner may authorize a deputy coroner, physician or surgeon licensed pursuant to section 4731.”
Clay v. Galita, 2024 Ohio 833 (Ohio Ct. App. 2024). · cites it 3דFor example, R.C. 313.13 governs autopsies following death in a motor vehicle accident, and provides, in part: “The coroner, any deputy coroner, an investigator appointed pursuant to section 313.”
Walker v. Firelands Cmty. Hosp., 869 N.E.2d 66 (Ohio Ct. App. 2007). “Experiment does not include autopsies pursuant to sections 313.13 and 2108.50 of the Revised Code.”
Albrecht v. Treon, 889 N.E.2d 120 (Ohio 2008). “Also, the coroner has no obligation to obtain consent from the next of kin of a decedent to perform an autopsy. R.C. 2108.52.”
Wallin v. Cincinnati Eye Bank for Sight Restoration, Inc., 733 F. Supp. 1152 (S.D. Ohio 1990). · cites it 4ד60(B) allows a coroner who performs an autopsy pursuant to Section 313.13 to remove the decedent’s corneas or to authorize a qualified individual to do so.”
Everman v. Davis, 561 N.E.2d 547 (Ohio Ct. App. 1989). “” R.C. 313.13 provided (see 136 Ohio Laws, Part II, 3586), in part: “The coroner or deputy coroner may go to the dead body and take charge of it.”
State ex rel. Chappell v. Mahoning Cty. Coroner Off., 2017 Ohio 881 (Ohio Ct. App. 2017). “R.C. 313.13(B). As R.C. 313.131(B) makes clear, the coroner’s decision in that regard is discretionary: “The coroner, deputy coroner, or pathologist shall perform an autopsy if, in the opinion of the coroner, or, in his absence, in the opinion of the deputy coroner, an autopsy…”
Owens v. Anderson, 530 N.E.2d 942 (Ohio Ct. App. 1987). “This discretion of the coroner as it *199 relates to autopsies is also recognized in R.C. 313.13. Without question, the acts of the coroner about which Owens complains were quasi-judicial and discretionary by nature.”
State v. Steckel, 2026 Ohio 979 (Ohio Ct. App. 2026). “R.C. 313.13(A). Once filed, the report is statutorily defined as a public record.”
Hicks v. NLO, INC., 631 F. Supp. 1207 (S.D. Ohio 1986). “§ 313.13 Autopsy. The coroner or deputy coroner may go to the dead body and take charge of it.”
State ex rel. Bandy v. Gilson, 2020 Ohio 1031 (Ohio Ct. App. 2020). · cites it 2ד10(A)(1) provides: Except as otherwise provided in this section, the records of the coroner who has jurisdiction over the case, including, but not limited to, the detailed descriptions of the observations written during the progress of an autopsy and the conclusions drawn from…”
— Ohio Rev. Code § 313.13(A) — 2 cases
Albrecht v. Treon, 889 N.E.2d 120 (Ohio 2008). “Also, the coroner has no obligation to obtain consent from the next of kin of a decedent to perform an autopsy. R.C. 2108.52.”
State v. Steckel, 2026 Ohio 979 (Ohio Ct. App. 2026). “R.C. 313.13(A). Once filed, the report is statutorily defined as a public record.”
— Ohio Rev. Code § 313.13(B) — 1 case
State ex rel. Chappell v. Mahoning Cty. Coroner Off., 2017 Ohio 881 (Ohio Ct. App. 2017). “R.C. 313.13(B). As R.C. 313.131(B) makes clear, the coroner’s decision in that regard is discretionary: “The coroner, deputy coroner, or pathologist shall perform an autopsy if, in the opinion of the coroner, or, in his absence, in the opinion of the deputy coroner, an autopsy…”
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