New Jersey Statutes 26:6B-22. Request to correct findings and conclusions
Terms Used In New Jersey Statutes 26:6B-22
- Appeal: A request made after a trial, asking another court (usually the court of appeals) to decide whether the trial was conducted properly. To make such a request is "to appeal" or "to take an appeal." One who appeals is called the appellant.
- Contract: A legal written agreement that becomes binding when signed.
- Decedent: A deceased person.
- Jurisdiction: (1) The legal authority of a court to hear and decide a case. Concurrent jurisdiction exists when two courts have simultaneous responsibility for the same case. (2) The geographic area over which the court has authority to decide cases.
- person: includes corporations, companies, associations, societies, firms, partnerships and joint stock companies as well as individuals, unless restricted by the context to an individual as distinguished from a corporate entity or specifically restricted to one or some of the above enumerated synonyms and, when used to designate the owner of property which may be the subject of an offense, includes this State, the United States, any other State of the United States as defined infra and any foreign country or government lawfully owning or possessing property within this State. See New Jersey Statutes 1:1-2
- State: extends to and includes any State, territory or possession of the United States, the District of Columbia and the Canal Zone. See New Jersey Statutes 1:1-2
b. The request to correct the findings and conclusions on a death certificate shall:
(1) be made in writing to the Chief State Medical Examiner, regardless of which medical examiner made the initial filing;
(2) describe the requested change precisely; and
(3) state the reasons for the change.
c. Within 60 days after receiving the request, the Chief State Medical Examiner shall notify the person in interest in writing of the action taken.
d. If the Chief State Medical Examiner denies the request to change findings and conclusions on the cause of death, the person in interest may appeal the denial in writing within 15 days of the denial to the commissioner; and the commissioner, within 15 days of receipt of the appeal, shall refer the matter to the Office of Administrative Law.
e. An administrative law judge shall conduct a hearing both on the denial and the establishment of the findings and conclusions on the cause of death. Upon reviewing the findings of fact submitted by an administrative law judge, the commissioner, or the commissioner’s designee, shall issue an order within 60 days to:
(1) adopt the findings of the administrative law judge; or
(2) reject the findings of the administrative law judge and affirm the findings of the medical examiner.
f. If the commissioner, or the commissioner’s designee, rejects the findings of an administrative law judge, the person in interest may appeal that rejection to a court of competent jurisdiction under State law.
g. If the final decision of the commissioner, or the commissioner’s designee, or of a court of competent jurisdiction on appeal, establishes findings or conclusions on the cause or manner of death of a decedent other than that recorded on the certificate of death, the medical examiner responsible for the initial filing, or if unavailable, another medical examiner with jurisdiction in this State, shall amend the certificate to reflect the different findings or conclusions.
h. The Chief State Medical Examiner shall send a change letter to the Bureau of Vital Statistics and Registration in the department to amend the certificate of death, to reflect the final decision of the commissioner, or the commissioner’s designee, or a court of competent jurisdiction.
i. The final decision of the commissioner, or the commissioner’s designee, or of a court in an appeal under this section, shall not give rise to any presumption concerning the application of any provision, or the resolution, of any claim concerning an insurance policy or contract relating to the decedent.
j. If the findings of the medical examiner are upheld by the commissioner, or the commissioner’s designee, the appellant shall be responsible for the cost of the contested case hearing, based on the billing rate established by the Office of Administrative Law. Otherwise, the department shall be responsible for the costs.
L.2018, c.62, s.22.