Question Bout 17 Years Ago

.

The hospital should still have her records. Start by contacting them there. Did she have an autopsy or any type of coroners report?

Or contact The Department of State Services, Death Statistics Unit or states dept of vital statistics where she died for her death record. Go to your county building for all of that. If you are very suspicious of something such as foul play and need to exhume the body for further testing, you need to go to the police I believe and it will be costly!

Obtain a copy of her death certificate if you do not have one, it will list cause of death and the doctor who signed it. Then send a written request to the medical records department of the hospital she died in, and explain that you would like a copy of her records. Send your written request to the hospital, addressed to the medical records department. Include the month and year of her hospitalization, the correct spelling of her name, DOB, her social security number, her address at the time, and any other identifying info you can think of. Also include the reason you wish to have the records.

Include your name, address, phone numbers and relationship so they can contact you in the event they can provide the records, they will charge you for copying the them. The records may be archived and stored away from the hospital itself, so retrieving records from so long ago may take weeks to months. And, they possibly will not release them to you, but only to another doctor. (There will be much information you would not understand.) If records are available and you are denied access you will then need to pursue this through an attorney.

If you wish to have her exhumed at some point to have an autopsy done, know that you will need to obtain a court order for this, and it will be costly.

you should be able to get her death certificate from the county coroners office...

I'm sorry your mom died...I hope you have many wonderful memories of her.

You need her death certificate. It will list cause of death and if an autopsy was performed. Given her probable age range 17 years ago it's likely there was an autopsy. Contact the county records office where she died. If they can't supply you with it, they should be able to point you in the right direction. You may need proof that you are her daughter -not sure if that varies from place to place. Often the same county records office where you get copies of birth certificates also have death certificates.

The hospital has probably destroyed her records by now but if you can find out the name of her doctor, that office may have some records. I would also contact the county corner's office to see if they have any info. Cause of death should be listed on her death certificate. The cemetary may have some records on her also.
If for instance they say 'cancer' you might want to see if you can find out what kind of cancer. Many cancers run in families, some do not.

Good luck in your search sweetie. I'm sorry you lost your Mom.

There should be a death certificate and that will have a cause of death listed. You buy that for $15 at the courthouse, same way you would a birth certificate. I believe you can do it online through the county she died in. I think that would be much easier than trying to obtain private medical records.

I don't know exactly how to do it. But if you are considering suing or blaming the doctors, then the statute of limitations is far past. If it's a possible criminal matter, then it's a matter for the police.

Was she cremated or buried?
An autopsy report?
Contact your Government offices that handles these records.

they should be somewhere, archived or stored somewhere I would think. i know this sounds harsh, and maybe wouldnt even work for your situation, but could you maybe have her body exumed and an autopsy done? i dont know, is there a specific reason this is coming up now? maybe contact the health department in the county where she died