N.Y. PBH Law § 4143

§ 4143. Deaths without medical attendance; registration. 1. In case of\nany death occurring without medical attendance, it shall be the duty of\nthe funeral director, undertaker or any other person to whose knowledge\nthe death may come, to give notice of such death to the coroner of the\ncounty, or if there be more than one, to a coroner having jurisdiction,\nor to the medical examiner.\n 2. When notified of any death occurring without medical attendance,\nthe coroner or medical examiner shall immediately investigate as\nprovided by law and shall certify as provided in subdivision three.\nProvided, however, no coroner or medical examiner shall have the\nauthority to investigate a pregnancy loss as provided in section\nforty-one hundred sixty-one of this article.\n 3. The coroner or medical examiner whose duty it is to investigate the\ndeath and to execute the certificate of death, shall state in such\ncertificate the name of the disease causing death, or if from external\ncauses, the means of death; whether probably accidental, suicidal or\nhomicidal; and shall, in any case, furnish such information as may be\nrequired by the commissioner in order to classify the death.\n 4. In case of any death occurring without medical attendance in the\ncounty of Erie, it shall be the duty of the undertaker or other person\nto whose knowledge the death may come, to notify the medical director of\nsuch death, and when so notified the medical director shall immediately\ninvestigate and certify as to the cause of death and shall, if such\nmedical director has reason to believe that the death may have been due\nto an unlawful act or neglect, cause a proper investigation and\ncertification in accordance with the provisions of this section.\nProvided, however, the medical director shall not have the authority to\ninvestigate a pregnancy loss as provided in section forty-one hundred\nsixty-one of this article.\n