DEPARTMENT OF COMMUNITY HEALTH
HEALTH PROGRAMS ADMINISTRATION-BUREAU OF CHILDREN AND
FAMILY PROGRAMS
DETERMINATION OF DEATHS OF CHILDREN
(By authority conferred on the director of the Michigan Department of Community Health
by section 52.205a of 2004 PA 179, section 8 of 1978 PA 312, sections 2226 and 5111 of
1978 PA 368, and Executive Reorganization Order Nos. 1996-1 and 1997-4, MCL 52.205a,
325.78, 333.2226(d), 333.5111, 330.3101, and 333.26324)
R 330.1 Definitions.
Rule 1. (1) As used in these rules:
(a) "County medical examiner" means the physician appointed by the board of
commissioners in a county, responsible for investigating the cause and manner of deaths
of individuals, in accordance with MCL 52.201 and 52.202.
(b) "Deputy county medical examiner" means the physician appointed by the board of
commissioners in a county, and approved by the County Medical Examiner, responsible
for investigating the cause and manner of deaths of individuals, in accordance with MCL
52.201 and 52.202.
(c) "Investigation of a death" means any of the following: gross external examination of
the body, autopsy, toxicology, review of medical history, review of incident scene
information, interviews with survivors and witnesses.
(d) "Manner" means how the cause of death arose and is classified on the death certificate.
Natural deaths are caused exclusively by disease. If an injury, such as mechanical,
chemical, electrical causes or contributes to death, then the death is classified on the death
certificate as non-natural and is subclassified as accident, homicide, suicide or not
determinable.
(e) "Cause of Death" means the actual disease, injury or complications that directly
resulted in the death of an individual.
(f) "State of Michigan protocols to determine cause and manner of sudden and
unexplained child deaths" means the state of Michigan's standard of investigation for
determination of cause and manner of deaths of children under age two, when
circumstances are sudden and unexplained. The protocol includes three components: the
Incident Death Scene Investigation Guidelines, the Child Autopsy Checklist, and the
Child's Medical History Case Review.
(g) "Incident death scene" means the location where the child was first found
unresponsive, not breathing, or obviously dead.
(h) "SIDS" or "sudden infant death syndrome" means a cause of death defined as the
sudden death of an infant under 1 year of age which remains unexplained after a thorough
case investigation, including performance of a complete autopsy, examination of the death
scene, and review of the clinical history.
History: 2007 AACS.
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