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Medical Examiner
1308 West Street
Wausau, WI 54401

P: 715-261-1199
F: 715-261-1198

For Hospitals, Nursing Facilities, and Hospice Agencies

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The Marathon County Medical Examiner’s Office requests to be notified of all deaths that occur within Marathon County. If you are needing to report a death that does not meet reportable criteria, please fill out the death reporting form. While filling the form out, if the decision is made that the death meets reportable criteria or if you have a question, please contact the on call Medical Examiner immediately by calling the Marathon County's 911 Communication Center at 715-261-7792.

Reportable Death Criteria

Per Wisconsin State Statute 979.01, the Medical Examiner’s Office shall be immediately notified of the death if any of the following circumstances exist:

All deaths in which there are unexplained, unusual, or suspicious circumstances
All homicides, suicides, accidents, or unnatural deaths
All deaths due to poisoning or overdose, whether homicidal, suicidal, or accidental
All deaths following accidents, whether the injury is or was not the primary cause of death (examples: quadriplegia due to trauma or an accident)
When there is no physician or accredited practitioner, who has attended or treated the decedent within 30 days preceding death
When the physician caring for the decedent refuses to sign the death certificate
All deaths that occur in a hospital emergency room setting
Maternal deaths due to abortion
Deaths of inmates of public institutions, who have not been hospitalized for organic illness
Deaths of persons in custody of law enforcement officers
Deaths that occur in association with, or as a result of diagnostic, therapeutic or anesthetic procedures
Deaths due to neglect
Fetus of 20 weeks or older, unattended by a physician or practitioner
Deaths of persons in which a fracture of a major bone (femur, tibia, pelvis, skull, etc.) has occurred within the past six months
Deaths following traumatic head bleeds
Deaths occurring outside of a hospital or nursing home, and not enrolled in a palliative care program under the care of a physician
Occupational related deaths attributable entirely or in part to external work place factors
Any death in which there is doubt as to whether it is a Medical Examiner's case should be reported and discussed with a Medical Examiner's Forensic Investigator
Sudden and unexpected deaths occurring in infants or children under the age of 2, under circumstances not explained by a pre-existing medical problem, must be referred to the Medical Examiner

Reporting A Death

When reporting a death, the Medical Examiner’s Office will need the following information:

Demographic information for the decedent
Medical history and primary medical diagnosis
Any contributing factors to the death such as a recent fall/injury/accident
Primary physician
Name of facility
Name and contact information of registered nurse reporting the death
Date and time of death
Funeral home
Next of kin

Death Reporting Form

Although the above cases must be reported, the Medical Examiner’s Office has the authority to accept or decline jurisdiction on a case-by-case basis. If the jurisdiction is declined, the attending physician signs the death certificate and the family is able to choose a funeral home for final disposition.

If the Medical Examiner’s Office assumes jurisdiction over the death, under no circumstances should clothing or effects be handled or disturbed prior to the examination of the body; or the scene altered, including moving weapons, items near the body, or to perform diagnostic examination, except by specific authorization of the Medical Examiner's Office. The body must be maintained in its original state. Personal effects and clothing obtained in emergency room situations must be meticulously protected, saved, and released to Medical Examiner or law enforcement personnel.

Marathon County, WI

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Reporting A Death