Faced with an exodus of medical examiners, New York City has stopped doing autopsies at the city medical examiner’s office in Queens and has consolidated those services in Brooklyn and Manhattan. The worsening staff shortage has also affected courtroom testimonies and how the city handles investigations into drug deaths.
The city currently has 18 medical examiners, a little more than half the number of staff in 2021, according to Doctors Council SEIU, the union that represents city medical examiners.
City officials said the recent changes to autopsy protocols have helped improve efficiency without undermining the agency’s standards. Some Queens funeral directors said traveling to Brooklyn to pick up bodies can take longer — and one director said he was raising funeral prices as a result — but they added that the changes are unlikely to delay families’ memorials.
Still, representatives with the Doctors Council said what they called a “staffing crisis” wasn’t letting up and could have real consequences for New Yorkers. The medical examiners are responsible for investigating the cause of violent or unexpected deaths and are frequently called to testify in court.