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| Public Act 097-0376 | ||||
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AN ACT concerning public health.
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Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
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represented in the General Assembly:
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Section 5. The Vital Records Act is amended by changing | ||||
Section 18 as follows:
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(410 ILCS 535/18) (from Ch. 111 1/2, par. 73-18)
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Sec. 18. (1) Each death which occurs in this State shall be | ||||
registered
by filing a death certificate with the local | ||||
registrar
of the district in which the death occurred or the | ||||
body was found, within
7 days after such death (within 5 days | ||||
if the death occurs prior to
January 1, 1989) and prior to | ||||
cremation or removal of the body from
the State, except when | ||||
death is subject to investigation by the coroner or
medical | ||||
examiner.
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(a) For the purposes of this Section, if the place of | ||||
death is unknown,
a death certificate shall be filed in the | ||||
registration district in which
a dead body is found, which | ||||
shall be considered the place of death.
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(b) When a death occurs on a moving conveyance, the | ||||
place where the body
is first removed from the conveyance | ||||
shall be considered the place of death
and a death | ||||
certificate shall be filed in the registration district in
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which such place is located.
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(c) The funeral director who first assumes
custody of a | ||
dead body shall be responsible for filing a completed death
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certificate. He shall obtain the personal data from the | ||
next
of kin or the best qualified person or source | ||
available; he shall enter
on the certificate the name, | ||
relationship,
and address of his informant; he shall enter | ||
the date, place, and method
of final disposition; he shall | ||
affix his own signature and enter his address;
and shall | ||
present the certificate to the person responsible for | ||
completing
the medical certification of cause of death. The | ||
person responsible for completing
the medical | ||
certification of cause of death must note the presence of | ||
methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus, clostridium | ||
difficile, or vancomycin-resistant enterococci if it is a | ||
contributing factor to or the cause of death. Additional | ||
multi-drug resistant organisms (MDROs) may be added to this | ||
list by the Department by rule.
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(2) The medical certification shall be completed and signed | ||
within 48
hours after death by the physician in charge of the | ||
patient's care for the
illness or condition which resulted in | ||
death, except when death is subject
to the coroner's or medical | ||
examiner's investigation. In the absence of
the physician or | ||
with his approval, the medical certificate may be
completed and | ||
signed by his associate physician, the chief medical officer
of | ||
the institution in which death occurred or by the physician who
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performed an autopsy upon the decedent.
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(3) When a death occurs without medical attendance, or when | ||
it is otherwise
subject to the coroner's or medical examiner's | ||
investigation, the coroner
or medical examiner shall be | ||
responsible for the completion of a coroner's
or medical | ||
examiner's certificate of death and shall sign the medical
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certification within 48 hours after death, except as provided | ||
by regulation
in special problem cases. If the decedent was | ||
under the age of 18 years at the time of his or her death, and | ||
the death was due to injuries suffered as a result of a motor | ||
vehicle backing over a child, or if the death occurred due to | ||
the power window of a motor vehicle, the coroner or medical | ||
examiner must send a copy of the medical certification, with | ||
information documenting that the death was due to a vehicle | ||
backing over the child or that the death was caused by a power | ||
window of a vehicle, to the Department of Children and Family | ||
Services. The Department of Children and Family Services shall | ||
(i) collect this information for use by Child Death Review | ||
Teams and (ii) compile and maintain this information as part of | ||
its Annual Child Death Review Team Report to the General | ||
Assembly.
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(3.5) The medical certification of cause of death shall | ||
expressly provide
an
opportunity for the person completing the
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certification to indicate that the death was caused in whole or | ||
in part by a
dementia-related disease, Parkinson's Disease, or | ||
Parkinson-Dementia Complex.
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(4) When the deceased was a veteran of any war of the | ||
United States, the
funeral director shall prepare a | ||
"Certificate of Burial of U. S. War Veteran",
as prescribed and | ||
furnished by the Illinois Department of Veterans' Affairs,
and | ||
submit such certificate to the Illinois Department of Veterans' | ||
Affairs
monthly.
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(5) When a death is presumed to have occurred in this State | ||
but the
body cannot be located, a death certificate may be | ||
prepared by the State
Registrar upon receipt of an order of a | ||
court of competent jurisdiction
which includes the finding of | ||
facts required to complete the death
certificate. Such death | ||
certificate shall be marked "Presumptive" and shall
show on its | ||
face the date of the registration and shall identify the court
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and the date of the judgment.
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(Source: P.A. 96-1000, eff. 7-2-10.)
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Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect July 1, | ||
2011.
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