New Mexico Administrative Code › Title 7 - HEALTH › Chapter 3 - STATE MEDICAL INVESTIGATOR'S OFFICE › Part 2 - POLICIES OF THE OFFICE OF THE MEDICAL INVESTIGATOR › Section 7.3.2.20 - AGENCIES

Current through Register Vol. 35, No. 13, July 16, 2024
A. Citations and
				regulations:
(1)
										50-9-4
				NMSA 1978: The agency is the state occupational health and safety agency for
				all purposes under federal legislation relating to occupational health and
				safety and may take all action necessary to secure to this state the benefits
				of that legislation.
(2)
										69-5-17
				NMSA 1978: The state mine inspector shall proceed immediately upon notification
				to the site of any mine accident causing the loss of life or imminent danger
				and assist in the rescue of persons within the mine, investigate the causes of
				the accident, conduct a closeout conference and make necessary recommendations
				for the present and future safety of the miners. So far as possible, the
				operator shall not change the surroundings of an accident until the state mine
				inspector has made his investigation, provided, however, that such
				investigation is made within a reasonable time.
(3) Document - Department of Transportation,
				Federal Aviation Administration, Aircraft Accident and Incident Notification,
				Investigation and Reporting, 7/76, Document #8020.11. Provided, that to the
				extent consistent with the needs of the accident investigation, provisions of
				local laws protecting religious beliefs with respect to autopsies shall be
				observed.
(a) Pre-crash Planning. Embalming
				invalidates most toxicological studies. Obtaining the early cooperation and
				understanding of the local coroner/medical examiner results in smoother
				operation in this area of the investigation. The state or local police may be
				of help in this communication. Good communication is the key to a
				well-conducted investigation and the local law enforcement agency, e.g., state
				police, is an effective place for the AME to keep in contact concerning the
				whereabouts of the coroner/medical examiner.
(i) If the AME does not personally know the
				coroner or mortician, he should introduce himself as the authorized AME of the
				federal aviation administration. This will establish the proper rapport. The
				coroner can be of great assistance to the investigation but sometimes is not
				fully oriented to the aviation medical aspects.
(ii) After autopsy permission has been
				secured, it is then determined whether it will be done by a local pathologist
				or by an FAA consultant pathologist.
(b) The coroner/medical examiner should be
				contacted to arrange for autopsy/toxicology studies.
(4) Regulation - bureau of Indian affairs
				1968, IAM 3.13 AND 3.13.2, Relations with Other Services and Agencies.
(a) Autopsy service. The policy is that where
				the United States attorney requests a postmortem autopsy on a human body and
				the case comes within the purview of the federal courts, the FBI will pay the
				expenses for the transportation of the corpse, the use of an operating room
				(usually a mortician's facility), and the fees of the medical officer
				performing the examination. The expenses incident to autopsy service prior to
				referral to the U. S. attorney may not be the responsibility of the FBI. The
				FBI will not pay burial expenses incident to such cases.
(b) Land surveys. In substantially all cases
				where the FBI investigates a crime on an Indian reservation pursuant to special
				laws applicable to Indian reservations, it is necessary to establish legal
				jurisdiction by determining the focus and status of the land on which the crime
				occurred. The bureau of Indian affairs has the responsibility to determine this
				requirement and for the payment of any land surveys incident thereto. Bureau
				officers should familiarize themselves with the location, custody, and
				availability of land records and the identity of Indian bureau or bureau of
				land management personnel who are qualified to testify thereto. Working
				arrangements should be established within Indian bureau facilities to provide
				for these surveys and to provide personnel qualified to make and testify to
				land surveys in court. This is an important prerequisite in federal and state
				prosecutions and cannot be overlooked. This information shall be made available
				to the FBI and the United States attorney. It will also be furnished to state
				prosecuting attorneys where such surveys develop that crimes being investigated
				occurred on non-federal jurisdiction lands.
(5)32-1-15 NMSA 1978:
(a) Any licensed physician, resident or
				intern examining, attending or treating a child, any law enforcement officer,
				registered nurse, visiting nurse, schoolteacher or social worker acting in his
				official capacity or any other person knowing or suspecting that a child is an
				abused or neglected child shall report the matter immediately to:
(i) the criminal prosecution division of the
				office of the district attorney.
(ii) the county social services office of the
				human services department in the county where the child resides; or
(iii) the probation services office of the
				judicial district in which the child resides.
(b) An oral report shall be made promptly by
				the recipient of the report under Paragraph 2 or 3 of Subsection A [now (ii)
				and (iii) of Subparagraph (a) or Paragraph (5) of Subsection A of 7.3.2.20
				NMAC] of this section to the district attorney by telephone or in person, and a
				written report shall be submitted to the district attorney as soon thereafter
				as possible. The written report shall contain the names and addresses of the
				child and his parents, guardians or custodian, the child's age, the nature and
				extent of the child's injuries, including any evidence of previous injuries,
				and other information that the maker of the report believes might be helpful in
				establishing the cause of the injuries and the identity of the person or
				persons responsible for the injuries.
(6) Memorandum 6-6 - Veteran's
				administration, medical center, Albuquerque, NM, April 18, 1984
(7) Responsibility to report deaths to the
				office of the medical investigator.