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A bill that would allow public officials to make autopsy information public has been introduced before the state Legislature.
Introduced Wednesday, May 31, by Rep. Robert Valihura Jr., R-Wilmington, the proposed legislation would amend the state’s health records privacy act to exempt the records of deceased individuals. The legislation comes in the wake of a Delaware Supreme Court ruling in a case involving the death of Rehoboth Beach businessman Duane Lawson.
Lawson’s body was discovered by firefighters who extinguished his burning car in the garage of the Henlopen Hotel in Rehoboth Beach.
The medical examiner ruled the death was accidental, but the cause of Lawson’s death has never officially been released.
As interpreted by the Delaware Attorney General’s Office, the Supreme Court unanimously found that the state’s health records privacy act prevents officials from releasing a cause of death in cases in which the Medical Examiner’s Office finds a death was accidental or natural.
The court’s ruling was praised as a victory for privacy rights, but at the same time raised concerns that important public health records might no longer be available to the public.
The Supreme Court based its ruling on the health records privacy act, which the proposed legislation amends. Valihura would insert the words “not including a deceased individual” in two places, and add deceased persons to a list of cases in which records could be released to the public. A synopsis of Valihura’s legislation says that it “specifically overturns” the court decision in the Lawson case.
Rep. Pete Schwartzkopf, D-Rehoboth Beach, said Monday, June 5, that he’s generally in favor of Valihura’s legislation, but he wants some limits on the public’s right to know what an autopsy contains. “I won’t be in favor of releasing the entire autopsy, but if it allows for the medical examiner and law enforcement to make a generalized statement about cause of death in suspicious circumstances, then I’m in favor of that,” Schwartzkopf said.
“When something happens of a suspicious nature, then the public’s curiosity is aroused. When people don’t have the official information, they make up their own,” he said. That can lead to wild rumors that Schwartzkopf said can be much worse than the truth.
“People look to the law enforcement agencies to assure them that there is not something bad going on out there,” he said. Because of the Supreme Court ruling, officials are uncertain what the law permits them to release in the case of unusual deaths, Schwartzkopf said.
In the absence of clear information, as in the Lawson case, he said, “Rumors spread very quickly – very vicious rumors that were so totally false it shocks the conscience.”
Rep. Joe Booth, R-Georgetown, said he hasn’t yet had a chance to look at the proposed legislation, but “it may be a nonissue and a nonneeded bill.”
He said he has questions about the release of the medical examiner’s report.
“Sometimes they disclose things that may be theory or just their opinions, and I’m not sure that would be helpful or needed,” Booth said.
Like Schwartzkopf, Booth said he wants to be sure that the legislation shows some concern for surviving family members.
“I’d like more discussion on it,” Booth said.
Booth also noted that Delaware newspapers including the Cape Gazette sought release of the medical examiner’s report by filing a court case under the Freedom of Information Act and were closely following the case before the Supreme Court.
“I like sitting on the sidelines watching the papers battle this out,” he said.
Lawson’s body was found by firefighters inside his burned out car, which caught fire Feb. 15, 2005, while parked in the garage of the Henlopen Hotel in Rehoboth Beach.
Rehoboth Beach Police Chief Keith Banks sought to release the cause of death in the case but was blocked when Lawson’s widow, Lisa Lawson, sought an injunction to prevent release of information contained in the autopsy report.
Lawson’s injunction was denied by the Chancery Court, but she prevailed on appeal to the Supreme Court.
Provisions of proposed House Bill 448
•The bill would modify the definition of “Protected health information” in the existing ordinance by adding the words “not including a deceased individual.”
•A paragraph that prohibits the release of private health information would also be amended to exclude information about deceased individuals.
•The bill also amends existing law to allow the release of otherwise protected health information if the information relates to a person who is deceased.
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