Autopsy Backlog Cleared At State Medical Examiner's Office
BALTIMORE (WJZ) -- An overflow of more than 200 autopsies at the Office of the State Medical Examiner has been cleared, a spokesperson for the department confirmed.
State health officials reported the backlog to lawmakers in early February, testifying that caseloads stretched beyond National Association of Medical Examiners accreditation limits.
Anne Wagner from the Maryland Department of Legislative Services said in February increases in overdose deaths and homicides were a contributing factor to the caseload increases. There was also a 17 percent decrease in full-time equivalent medical examiners in FY 2021.
Amid the controversy, Chief Medical Examiner at the time Dr. Victor Weedn resigned and was replaced by Dr. Pamela E. Southall as the state's interim Chief Medical Examiner.
A week before his Feb. 18 resignation, Dr. Weedn asked the federal government for help managing the backlog.
Weedn reported 217 bodies were awaiting examinations by the state's forensic pathologists, but he said that number could surpass 300 by the end of February.
