Section 330.1. Definitions.

Rule 1. (1) As used in these rules:

(a)"County medical examiner" means the physician appointed by the board of commissioners in a county, responsible for investigating the cause and manner of deaths of individuals, in accordance with MCL 52.201 and 52.202.

(b)   "Deputy county medical examiner" means the physician appointed by the board of commissioners in a county, and approved by the County Medical Examiner, responsible for investigating the cause and manner of deaths of individuals, in accordance with MCL 52.201 and 52.202.

(c)     "Investigation of a death" means any of the following: gross external examination of the body, autopsy, toxicology, review of medical history, review of incident  scene information,  interviews with   survivors and witnesses.

(d)   "Manner" means how the cause of death arose and is classified on the death certificate. Natural deaths are caused exclusively by disease. If an injury, such as mechanical, chemical, electrical causes or contributes to death, then the death is classified on the death certificate as non-natural and is subclassified as  accident, homicide, suicide or not determinable.

(e)   "Cause of Death" means the actual disease, injury or complications that directly resulted in the death of an individual.

(f)   "State of Michigan protocols to determine cause and manner of sudden and unexplained child deaths" means the state of Michigan's standard of investigation for determination of cause and manner of deaths of children under age two, when circumstances are sudden and unexplained. The protocol includes three components: the Incident Death Scene Investigation Guidelines, the Child Autopsy Checklist, and the Child's Medical History Case Review.

(g)    "Incident death scene" means the location where the child was first found unresponsive, not breathing, or obviously dead.

(h)   "SIDS" or "sudden infant death syndrome" means a cause of death defined as the sudden death of an infant under 1 year of age which remains unexplained after a thorough case investigation, including performance of a complete autopsy, examination of the death scene, and review of the clinical history.

History: 2007 MR 17, Eff. Sept. 10, 2007.