The Negative Medicolegal Autopsy

An autopsy is negative if all of the steps of the autopsy fail to demonstrate a cause of death. All of the steps of the autopsy are necessary to perform such that a complete postmortem examination has been performed and potential causes of death can be explored and ruled out. This does not mean that pathological and historical findings are present but the autopsy is “negative” from a cause and mechanism of death perspective. Essentially, the cause of death is undetermined or unascertained. The negative medicolegal differs from the “false negative” autopsy or the “defective” autopsy. This arise when the cause of death is actual ascertainable but an essential piece of information was missing from the autopsy. This can include an inadequate history, lapse in external examination, inadequate internal examination, and lack of toxicological analysis. In addition, a lack of training can contribute to a missed cause of death [1].