How long does it take to receive autopsy results?

[Carol]

When I was on vacation in June, I attended a large festival in the northern part of the state that I enjoyed very much. I met many people there. Some folks I had a chance to get to know, others I didn't. One of the folks that I didn't get a chance to know very well was a fellow in hid early 30s named Dan who had to leave the festival early after receiving word that his brother was killed in an accident.

Unfortunately the news for the family got worse over the summer. Last month, Dan passed away in his apartment. No apparant signs of visitors, or of foul play that we know of, it appeared he just died in his sleep.

Dan's father and surviving brother have reached out to many of us online via social media. They are very nice folks and as you can imagine, my heart and my friends' hearts ache terribly for their losses. I can't imagine what it must be like to lose two children/two brothers in such a short time frame.

Dan's father stated that they did intend on having an autopsy done on Dan's body. He also made the comment that he expects it to be awhile before they hear any results. I don't know if the family has heard results from Dan's autopsy. Out of respect for their privacy, I don't intend on asking. If they feel like sharing the information, they can do so.

But the subject did leave a few of us curious -- how long does it take to receive autopsy results? And do the circumstances surrounding the death affect the wait time?

 

[granfire]

I suppose it depends.
How big the town is, etc...if they have to run complicated tests.

So several weeks should not be out of the realm of possibility. Only on TV they have everything in in under an hour.

Many prayers to the family. When it rains it pours.

 

[arnisador]

If they're waiting on toxicology tests it can be up to a few months on technical grounds and if an investigation is being done they can be withheld for that.

 

[elder999]

If they're waiting on toxicology tests it can be up to a few months on technical grounds and if an investigation is being done they can be withheld for that.

This-autopsy results can be obvious-even in cases with no apparent foul play or trauma, like someone dying in their sleep: some sorts of congenital defects, like congenital heart defects-can cause sudden death by "natural causes," and be completely detectable the moment the pathologist removes and examines the heart. I had a friend from high school die from a congenital heart defect one morning in the shower-at age 19. They were talking "drugs" until they removed hiis heart and said, "Oh.[/i}

Conversely, if it was drugs or some other toxin, and there was no obvious cause (some of these can be pretty obvious as well, like some forms of cyanide) toxicology can take anywhere from three weeks to three months or more.

 

[jks9199]

It all depends. Some results from an autopsy can be ready within a few days. (That's for the actual, formal report, not pathologist simply saying "massive head trauma leading to a hinge and depressed skull fracture with significant subdural bleeding" or "impact cause the aorta to dissect.") Other tests will take much more time, some can take weeks just to do the test, then more time to analyze the results. If you have special circumstances or needs, that can take even more time. I know of one case that had to be reviewed by a particular, very busy expert, that took several months to get those results back.

Obviously, some things can put pressure on a case, as well. High profile victim, or a case with a lot of public interest or pressure, and the bulk of the results will be back as fast as possible. Relatively routine case... it might take longer.