BALTIMORE — The Maryland Office of Chief Medical Examiner says they have cleared the backlog of dead bodies awaiting for autopsy.
As reported earlier this year, there were more than 200 bodies waiting autopsy. These delays impacted funeral homes and families all across Maryland who were waiting to schedule funeral arrangements for their loved ones.
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The Baltimore-based agency is mandated by law to examine fatalities that are sudden and unexpected, result from injury, occur under unexplained or suspicious circumstances, or occur when a person is not accompanied by a physician.
According to the Maryland Department of Health, the backlog is due to staffing constraints as well as an increase in resource-intensive cases such as homicides and drug overdoses.
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The Maryland Department of Health coordinated with FEMA to supply four experts to OCME to assist in the backlog.
