Wayne County medical examiner reports caseload and turnaround times for Oct'Dec 2025
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Summary
The medical examiner's office reported it received 4,078 death reports from Oct. 1 to Dec. 31, 2025, took jurisdiction of 655 cases (404 full autopsies) and averaged 2.5 days for histology turnaround and about 14 days for final causes in some cases; the committee received and filed the report.
Charlie Rose, division director of the Wayne County Medical Examiner's Office, presented the MEO's quarterly turnaround-time analysis for Oct. 1 to Dec. 31, 2025. Rose said the office received 4,078 death reports during the period and assumed jurisdiction for 655 cases: 404 full autopsies, 220 inspections only and 31 limited autopsies. For decedents requiring histology, Rose said specimens were submitted and the histology turnaround averaged about 2.5 days.
Rose told commissioners that final cause-of-death determinations and amendments for those 655 decedents were completed in two general cohorts: 400 cases averaged roughly 14 days to final cause and amendment, while the remaining 192 averaged about 29.2 days. Cremation permits were processed efficiently (within about one day) for nearly 2,952 cases in that period, he said. The commission moved to receive and file the report and the motion carried.
What happens next: the medical examiner will continue reporting turnaround metrics to the committee; commissioners encouraged timely processing of permits and data transparency.
