Deputy Coroner/Medicolegal Death Investigator

Duties:

Essential Duties and Responsibilities: This list of duties and responsibilities is illustrative only, and is not a comprehensive listing of all duties and responsibilities performed by positions in this class.

• Receive notifications of deaths via telephone, SMS messaging and/or other electronic means.
• Conducts death investigations, both by telephone and in person, to determine cause and manner of death.
• Directs the recovery, transportation, and processing of bodies and related evidence.
• Documents circumstances surrounding reported deaths utilizing notes, photographs, measurements, written narratives, or other means as appropriate.
• Performs official identification of decedents in accordance with office policy.
• Performs death notifications to next-of-kin in accordance with office policy.
• Coordinates with organ-donor agencies to facilitate request for organ and tissue donations.
• Orders x-rays, toxicological studies, and autopsies as deemed necessary.
• Makes follow-up investigations of deaths with persons associated with the decedent or allied agencies.
• Obtains and reviews medical histories and records from private physicians or healthcare agencies.
• Testifies in administrative and criminal proceedings.
• Provides public education or other presentations to outside groups or agencies.
• Coordinates community programs involving the Coroner’s Office.
• Maintains regular attendance and punctuality.
• All other duties as assigned by the Coroner and/or the Coroner’s designees.

Supervisory Responsibilities:

• This job has no supervisory responsibilities.

Requirements:

Qualifications:

• To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform all essential duties satisfactorily. The requirements listed below are representative of the knowledge, skill and/or ability required for the position.

Residency:

• Employee must reside within the specified residency boundaries (Appendix A) unless prior waiver has been granted by the Coroner.

Education and Experience:

• Have reached their 21st birthday by the date of hire.
• High school diploma or general education degree (GED).
• An associate’s degree or completion of 60-semester units from an accredited college or university in medical, law enforcement, legal or related field. This requirement may be substituted by work-related experience on a year-per-year basis.
• A combination of the following:
• One year of experience as a full-time (or equivalent part-time experience) Medical Examiner Investigator or Deputy Coroner in a Coroner or Medical Examiner’s facility;
OR
• Two years of work experience in a related field.

Language Skills:

• Ability to read and interpret documents such as governmental regulations, written reports/documents, correspondence, and procedure manuals.
• Ability to write routine reports and correspondence.
• Ability to speak effectively with the public and employees, outside entities, law enforcement and fire personnel, and others in both one-on-one and group settings.
• Ability to communicate effectively in writing and over the phone.
• Requires good knowledge of the English language, spelling and grammar.

Mathematical Skills:

• Ability to add, subtract, multiply and divide in all units of measure, using whole numbers, common fractions and decimals.

Reasoning Ability:

• Ability to apply common sense understanding to carry out instructions furnished in written, oral, or diagram form.
• Ability to deal with problems involving several concrete variables in standardized situations.

Other Skills, Knowledge and Abilities:

• Ability to work non-standard hours, such as on-call or on rotating shift to ensure 24/7 coverage (including nights, weekends, and holidays).
• Ability to take a reasonable amount of on-call time each month, as determined by the Coroner.
• Ability to establish and maintain cooperative work relationships with a variety of individuals and agencies.
• Ability to communicate clearly and concisely, both oral and in writing.
• Ability to concentrate on more than one task at a time, and to make independent decisions.
• Ability to work under stressful conditions while exercising emotional control.
• Ability to interact considerately with next-of-kin, witnesses, and others involved in the deaths being investigated
• Ability to pass a background investigation with no prior convictions of domestic violence, any felony, or crime of moral turpitude.

Certificates, Licenses, Registrations:

• A valid Illinois Driver’s License (by date of hire) and a good driving record.
• Ability to obtain an Illinois Firearm Owner’s Identification (FOID) card.
• Current registry certification from the American Board of Medicolegal Death Investigators (ABMDI) or ability to obtain certification within 18 months of hire.

Physical Demands:

• Must frequently be able to sit and stand for extended periods of time.
• Must be able to frequently bend, stoop, stretch, twist, reach, kneel, crawl, squat, climb and balance.
• Must frequently be able to walk and possibly run on uneven ground and rough terrain.
• Must frequently be able to lift, carry, drag or push an average body weight of 100-200 pounds or more, both alone and with assistance.
• Must occasionally be able to climb ladders or stairs, climb up to and down from higher levels using unconventional methods.
• Must be able to use hands and fingers to handle, feel and operate equipment.
• Must be able to talk and hear in person and via use of telephone.
• Specific vision abilities required by this job include close vision, depth perception and distance vision.

Work Environment:

• While performing assigned job duties, employee may be exposed to catastrophic death scenes, autopsies, or other graphic locations.
• Will be required to work in both indoor and outdoor work areas and may be subjected to all weather elements.
• Will be required to work in all lighting conditions, including but not limited to, daylight and night/low light, with and without artificial light available.
• The noise level in the work environment varies from quiet to noisy.
• May be exposed to dust, fumes, odors, smoke, gases and chemicals.
• May be exposed to blood borne pathogens or other infectious or contagious diseases.
• May be exposed to stressful situations while working with law enforcement, first responders, medical professionals, and the general public, and under emergency circumstances.
• Will be required to operate a motor vehicle to travel to and from work locations.
• Will be required to qualify annually with and carry firearms in accordance to the requirements set forth in 50 ILCS 710 (Peace Officer and Probation Officer Firearm Training Act).
• May be required to provide own transportation to travel to and from meeting, training, conferences, etc.
• Must be able to perform all assigned job duties during normal business hours and outside of normal business hours.

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