Death Records Now

He died 20 years ago and there are no other documents left in our possession.

In the US, unless you catch a flukey, darn lucky break, you aren’t going to be able to acquire that information.

Given this person died 20 years ago, blood typing of newborns just wasn’t done. So there would be no recording on the Birth Certificate (as you probably have already found).

Unless there was some reason to do an extensive autopsy (very rare) it is unlikely any death "record" would have this information either.

So this information would only be in medical records. In the US though, with the passage of HIPAA laws, you won’t be able to get those records unless maybe you are a direct descendant. Maybe.

A little know fact is that HIPAA extends to deceased persons as well as living persons. You can’t release medical information on a deceased individual (one argument, an insurance company could find your deceased parent died of ovarian cancer and thus bump up your rates because you now have a higher chance of getting this condition).

A consequence of HIPAA is that doctors and hospitals are purging old records. Technically, they can’t retain medical records without a medical reason – and clearly there is little medical reason to retain the medical records of a patient that died 20 years earlier.

So unless you catch a fluky, very unusual break somewhere, you aren’t going to be able to get this information (in the US anyway).

A seven-month investigation into federal mortality records reveals hundreds of thousands of death certificates filed every year in the United States are wrong, meaning we don’t really know what’s killing Americans. A first-of-its-kind study also found that younger, well-educated and wealthy people are more likely to be autopsied when they die. More men than women are autopsied. And blacks, Hispanics, Asians and Native Americans are more likely to be autopsied than whites.

Story produced by WPTV in West Palm Beach, Fla. and Scripps Howard News Service in Washington, D.C.

WPTV and Scripps Howard News Service are owned by the E.W. Scripps company.

Duration : 0:2:36

Read more…

I was born in new york and the courts sealed my records, but i know my mothers name and just cant find anything. Didnt think that dead people had privacy rights. If anyone cant help please contact me. Look for family so that my kids can know there family.

I believe death certificates are public record. You would need to go to the county in which she lived and go to the records department…usually listed in the phone book under government offices. As for info on death certificate…usually just the basics like the person’s name, date of birth, residence, date and approx. time of death, cause of death, and the medical examiner verified the death and/or performed the autopsy.

My brother passed away at home unexpectedly. The mortuary says they wont do an autopsy but will use his medical records to determine the cause of death. We want an autopsy done because we feel his doctor possibly over medicated him and never gave a definite diagnosis for his health problems.

An autotpsy is required when someone dies under undetermined or suspicious circumstances or while not under the care of a doctor who will sign the death cert. You can have an autotpsy done at your own expense if the state will not perform one.

Sorry about your brother. Let me give you 50 cents worth of free advice. Try to let it go. Unless there are some definite signs of medical malpractice, all you will be doing is prolonging the suffering. I know it’s easy for me to say. But untimely deaths like this always leave people looking for answers that sometimes are not there.

Peace out.

A seven-month investigation into federal mortality records reveals hundreds of thousands of death certificates filed every year in the United States are wrong, meaning we don’t really know what’s killing Americans. A first-of-its-kind study also found that younger, well-educated and wealthy people are more likely to be autopsied when they die. More men than women are autopsied. And blacks, Hispanics, Asians and Native Americans are more likely to be autopsied than whites.

Story produced by KSHB in Kansas City and Scripps Howard News Service in Washington, D.C.

KSHB and Scripps Howard News Service are owned by the E.W. Scripps company.

Duration : 0:3:48

Read more…