SALT LAKE CITY — Utah is likely the only state in the nation that doesn’t automatically include a medical examiner at the scene of an automobile accident and state lawmakers aim to change that.

Often what appears to be a mere accidental death turns out to be much more than that, Utah Highway Patrol Maj. Michael Rapich told members of the Legislative Health and Human Services Interim Committee on Wednesday. He said a medical examiner’s report would not only be helpful in obtaining toxicology results more quickly, but would hasten investigations as well.

West Valley Police and Firefighters investigate a double fatal car crash Sunday, March 13, 2011 on Redwood Road at 3740 south. A new bill aims to automatically include a medical examiner at the scene of an automobile accident.

“The cause of death is not always apparent,” he said, referring to a situation where a woman died in a car accident and she was believed to have been under the influence of drugs. What the following investigation revealed was that a drug had been slipped into the woman’s drink and she did not know she’d be impaired while driving.

“If the medical examiner was not involved, we lose the authority to make that decision and that leaves no avenue to pursue criminal charges on the matter,” Rapich said. “Highway fatalities are by far the biggest work load we have.”

Hospital emergency departments and other physicians are sometimes too busy or otherwise reluctant to accept a patient who has already died, and that makes it difficult to get a proper death certificate to relatives, which can delay insurance payouts and create other problems, including putting off a proper burial.

“Issues can develop with the disposition of an estate and it creates a situation of legal limbo for families in the absence of that piece of documentation,” said Todd Gray, Utah’s

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