title: Objections to medico-legal autopsy--recent developments in case law.
abstract: Medico-legal autopsies can be directed by coroners. However, in a number of jurisdictions family members can lodge objections with coroners against such procedures taking place. The authors analyse the objections, successful and unsuccessful, taken in Australia. Reviewing recent Victorian developments, they emphasise the public interest in autopsies which reveal medical causes of death. They identify the ongoing importance of coroners being able to exercise their statutory function to undertake death investigations effectively and to make informed recommendations to reduce the incidence of avoidable deaths.
authors.affiliation: Victorian Institute of Forensic Medicine, Department of Forensic Medicine, Monash University.
authors.forename: Matthew J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Lynch
authors.forename: Noel W F
authors.initials: NW
authors.lastname: Woodford
mesh_terms: D001315:Australia; D001344:Autopsy / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence*; D003334:Coroners and Medical Examiners / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence*; D005554:Forensic Medicine / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence*; D006801:Humans