ASHEVILLE, N.C. (828newsNOW) — Families across North Carolina are waiting longer for death certificates, cremations and answers after the deaths of loved ones as a growing shortage of medical examiners strains the state’s death investigation system.
Medical examiners across Western North Carolina say years of stagnant pay, rising caseloads and staffing shortages have pushed the system to a breaking point, leaving some counties without consistent coverage and forcing examiners to travel across multiple counties to handle cases.
Buncombe County medical examiner Paula Case said the effects are increasingly being felt by families already navigating grief…