An inquest is an investigation into the cause and circumstances of a death. Laws vary from state to state and the circumstances under which an inquest may be required are usually specified in a state’s statutes.

For example, if a person dies in a county with a medical examiner, the medical examiner (or authorized deputy) may be required to conduct an inquest under the these and other circumstances:

• when a person dies within 24 hours after being admitted to a hospital or institution, or dies in prison or jail;

• when a person is killed, or dies from an unnatural cause of death (unless executed by the state for a crime), or dies without one or more good witnesses;

• when the body or a body part of a person is found, and the cause or circumstances of death are unknown;

• when the circumstances of the death of any person lead to suspicion the person died by unlawful means;

• when any person commits suicide, or the circumstances of the person's death lead to suspicion the person committed suicide;

• when a person dies without having been attended by a duly licensed and practicing physician, and the local health officer or registrar required to report the cause of death does not know the cause of death;

• when the person is a child and the death is required to be reported by law; and

• when a person dies who has been attended immediately preceding death by a duly licensed and practicing physician or physicians, and such physician or physicians are not certain as to the cause of death and are unable to certify with certainty the cause of death.

In North Carolina, an inquest into the cause and circumstances of a death is typically conducted by a medical examiner or an authorized deputy. The North Carolina General Statutes outline specific situations where an inquest is necessary. These situations include deaths occurring within 24 hours of hospital admission, deaths in prison or jail, unnatural deaths, deaths without good witnesses, found bodies or body parts with unknown causes of death, deaths under suspicious circumstances suggesting unlawful means, suspected suicides, deaths unattended by a physician where the cause is unknown, child deaths that are legally mandated to be reported, and cases where attending physicians cannot certify the cause of death with certainty. The medical examiner has the authority to investigate these deaths to determine the cause and manner of death, and this process is crucial for legal and public health reasons.