Does the coroner have any responsibility to investigate the death?

There is no indication the coroner investigated the death involved in this case. Appellants sought an autopsy for the sole purpose of discovery of evidence in a civil action. Appellants had no legal right to have an autopsy conducted for this purpose. In Holm v. Superior Court (1986) 187 Cal.App.3d 1241, 1248-1249, 232 Cal.Rptr. 432, the court held, "[T]he courts of this state have no legal authority, inherent or expressly conferred, to disturb the repose of the dead as an aid to civil litigants in their trial preparations." The appellate court found that neither the statutes relating to dead bodies nor the statutes relating to civil discovery authorize a court to order an autopsy for civil discovery purposes; the appellate court further concluded a court has no inherent authority to make such an order in the [232 Cal.App.3d 163] absence of statute. (Id. at pp. 1245-1248, 232 Cal.Rptr. 432; cf. Annot. (1952) 21 A.L.R.2d 538.) Appellants had no right to have an autopsy conducted and could not have obtained a court order for one.

This case is therefore distinguishable from the California "spoliation of evidence" case on which appellants rely, Smith v. Superior Court (1984) 151 Cal.App.3d 491, 198 Cal.Rptr. 829. (See Annot. (1989) 70 A.L.R. 4th 984.) In Smith, a tire flew off a van and crashed into the windshield of the plaintiff's vehicle, causing permanent injuries. A car dealer who had customized the van with special wheels agreed with the plaintiff's counsel to maintain certain automotive parts pending further investigation. The car dealer thereafter destroyed or lost the evidence, making it impossible for the plaintiff's experts to inspect and test those parts to determine the cause of the failure of the wheel assembly on the van. The complaint for spoliation of evidence alleged the car dealer knew or should have known that plaintiff would be induced to rely upon the promise by forbearing from seeking a temporary restraining order to compel maintenance of the evidence. (Id. at pp. 494-495, 198 Cal.Rptr. 829.)