Medicolegal Death Investigator (MLDI)
Definition
A broader category of non-physician death investigators, including but not limited to nurses, who work under the authority of a coroner or medical examiner. The FNDI is a specific clinical variant within this category.
- Scope
- Non-physician death investigators
- Includes
- Nurses and other trained investigators
- Reports to
- Coroner or medical examiner
- Related, narrower role
- Forensic nurse death investigator (FNDI)
Common questions
Why does a death investigation system need MLDIs if a medical examiner already reviews the case?+
MLDIs handle the scene-side work, including scene documentation, witness interviews, and evidence collection, freeing the medical examiner or pathologist to focus on the autopsy itself, and their scene notes directly inform the pathologist's later findings.
What training does an MLDI typically hold compared to a medical examiner?+
MLDIs are not physicians and usually complete a certification or specialised death-investigation training programme rather than a medical degree, which is why they work under the delegated authority of a coroner or medical examiner rather than independently.
Related terms
- Algor Mortis
- Postmortem cooling of the body toward ambient temperature, approximately 1-1.5 degrees Celsius per hour under average conditions. Used alongside other postmortem changes...
- Coroner Model
- A death-inquiry system headed by an elected or appointed official (the coroner) who need not be a physician. Holds legal authority to...
- Forensic Nurse Death Investigator (FNDI)
- A registered nurse with medicolegal death investigation training who conducts scene assessment, collects ante-mortem history, documents postmortem findings, and coordinates information between...
- Livor Mortis
- Postmortem pooling of blood in dependent tissues producing a purple-red discolouration. Becomes fixed at roughly 8-12 hours; discordance between liver position and...
- Medical Examiner Model
- A death-inquiry system headed by a forensic pathologist who holds statutory authority to investigate and certify deaths falling within specified categories (homicide,...