OK - 7-month wait for 5-year-old's autopsy results unacceptable, grieving family says

wfgodot

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Oklahoma. (smh) The medical examiner's office has been in a state of constant chaos at least since I moved here in 1991.

Grieving family says months-long wait for autopsy report unacceptable (Tulsa World)
Noah Osborn, a 5-year-old, refused to go to sleep - playing with a flashlight after being put to bed at his grandparents' house in Tulsa. ---
Steven Osborn said his son was full of energy when he made Noah turn off the flashlight and go to bed.

"He wasn't sick. Didn't have a fever. He seemed perfectly fine," Osborn said. "I remember getting onto him because he was supposed to be asleep, and it was late, and he was making shadow puppets on the wall with the flashlight Grandpa had given him."

In the morning, they found Noah's body lying still in bed. He'd been dead for hours, and there was nothing they could do to bring him back.
---
While they wait for answers, Osborn is challenging Oklahoma lawmakers to improve Oklahoma's Medical Examiner's Office - saying seven months is too long for grieving families.
---
much more, with a picture, at the link above
 
Good gawd! Their system is as much a mess as Arkansas' is. I am still waiting for a part of my BIL's autopsy from eight years ago. Yes, you read that right, eight years ago. Apparently, it's lost somewhere.
 
Good gawd! Their system is as much a mess as Arkansas' is. I am still waiting for a part of my BIL's autopsy from eight years ago. Yes, you read that right, eight years ago. Apparently, it's lost somewhere.
Egad.

Yes, I realize OK has serious competition in the "incompetence" department right next door, ME-wise. But EIGHT YEARS?

Seriously, if I posted a thread for every OK ME-related foul-up just in the last several years, there might be dozens by now.
 
That is horrible that they are making a grieving family wait for 7 months to get answers! When our granddaughter died unexpectedly in her sleep, an autopsy was done at the hospital within a couple of hours of her arriving at the hospital. The medical examiner called our house the minute the autospy was done to give us the cause of death, which was SIDS. We got the results the same day. When my uncle laid down to take a nap and was found dead when called to lunch, there was a prompt autopsy. We were told he did not die of a heart attack and that his cause of death was undetermined. They could find no cause--he was just dead. It was a lot like a SIDS death in a baby only my uncle was in his 60's or around there. Another uncle died in his sleep and we were told it was from a silent heart attack. His wife was sleeping next to him and said he didn't move or make a sound before he died. But we were quickly given the cause of death. We've never had to wait for autopsy results. When my stepfather died of cancer/heart attack, we received a print out soon after of all the autopsy findings. Why in the world would this family have to wait so long?
 
The ME was in the news recently, having first listed the Oklahoma storm dead as 51. The correct count - a month after the storms - is now 22.
 
Egad.

Yes, I realize OK has serious competition in the "incompetence" department right next door, ME-wise. But EIGHT YEARS?

Seriously, if I posted a thread for every OK ME-related foul-up just in the last several years, there might be dozens by now.

Yes, it will be eight years as of July 23rd. "Incompetence" doesn't begin to cover it between your state and mine.

For a glimpse into how incompetent the ME's department was/is, read "The Boys on the Tracks." It's written by Mara Leveritt (sp), the woman who wrote "Devil's Knot" about the WM3 case.

I would have never believed a ME's office could be so inept until my BIL died. OMG, they have changed the manner of death at least twice that I know of. Who knows what else they have done that I'm not aware of, and I probably don't want to even know at this point. I have been handed off to so many people trying to get the tox results that I am sure I am on their "special list" at this point. Of course, they say they sent them with the autopsy, but they weren't there. I know this because I specifically looked for them, because I had to know what was in his system when he died. Because it may have had a bearing on his death. I called the investigating officer who says he never seen them, and it just goes on and on. I had to explain to the investigating officer some terms listed in the autopsy report, that is how bad it was. But, he still wouldn't come off of his assertion that my BIL's death was an accident, when in fact there is ample evidence pointing to homicide. At this point, I can't deal with it anymore. I fought for him for a very long time, and sometimes, you just have to know when it's time to quit for your own sanity.

It just amazes me that Louisiana sends bodies to Little Rock for autopsies, when Arkansas can't even get their own right.

JMO
 
The ME was in the news recently, having first listed the Oklahoma storm dead as 51. The correct count - a month after the storms - is now 22.

Yeah, that was terrible. How do you make that kind of mistake? That's 29 people they over-counted. Jeez, I could send my granddaughter to teach them to count, if they would like.

JMO
 
Yeah, that was terrible. How do you make that kind of mistake? That's 29 people they over-counted. Jeez, I could send my granddaughter to teach them to count, if they would like.

JMO
I realize that, in the heat of the battle, numbers can change. They did in Joplin when it was hit by the tornado - actually, a final tally came much, much later. BUT the numbers weren't off by much. One day it was up a notch, the next maybe down two. That stuff takes time, and requires decision-making-capabilities. That last is in short supply, evidently, here.
 
I realize that, in the heat of the battle, numbers can change. They did in Joplin when it was hit by the tornado - actually, a final tally came much, much later. BUT the numbers weren't off by much. One day it was up a notch, the next maybe down two. That stuff takes time, and requires decision-making-capabilities. That last is in short supply, evidently, here.

I think that is in short supply everywhere these days. I could understand maybe being off by ten, but 29? Of course on 9-11, I remember someone saying 10000 people died in the Trade Center.
 

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