Forensic Investigations

Forensic Investigations/Deputy Medical Examiners

The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner is accepting applications for per-diem Forensic Investigators appointments for all counties in Maryland. Applications are open and continuous.

A Forensic Investigator is a qualified applicant who is appointed by the Chief Medical Examiner to represent the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner during a death investigation.

Minimum criteria for consideration are any one of the following:

Criteria for appointment

ü	Valid driver’s license
ü	2 years of death investigation experience or 5 years trauma care experience (pre-hospital or hospital)
ü	college credits in forensics, death investigation, nursing, physician’s assistant, or emergency medicine may be substituted for some clinical experience
ü	ability to be on-call on a regular basis
ü	ABMDI certification or registry preferred

Duties and Responsibilities

ü	Respond to the scene of death within one hour of notification
ü	Coordinate and cooperate with other agencies
ü	Obtain photographs
ü	Examine the remains
ü	Write a detailed death investigation report
ü	Properly preserve evidence on the body
ü	Obtain post-mortem blood sample
ü	Interviews including but not limited to family, police and EMS

A Forensic Investigator is expected to work under hazardous conditions that may result in injury. Potential exposures include but are not limited to: blood and body fluids, needles and sharps, broken glass, vehicle wreckage, electrical sources, unsafe structures, crowded areas, active roadways, waterways and all extremes of weather conditions.

Forensic Investigators are provided with 1-2 days of orientation as well as on-scene training. Once the training process is complete the investigator is expected to function autonomously and have the ability to recognize and utilize available resources when support is required.

Investigator is considered to be a self-employed vendor with appointed privileges to represent the OCME at the death scene. Each investigator is entitled to a fee that is pre-designated in COMAR. There is no compensation for being on-call. Investigators are paid on a fee for service basis; not by the hour. This fee is not taxed at the time payment is issued. The investigator will receive a Form 1099 and is expected to pay the appropriate amount of taxes at the end of the year or in quarterly estimated tax payments.

To apply, download the application for appointment. This application is in Microsoft Word format. Once downloaded, complete the application in Microsoft Word and save the completed application to your computer. Submit the application to chiefinvestigator@ocmemd.org as an email attachment. Applicants may be screened on qualifications, geographic location as well as availability.

Downloadable Word Document:

Click Here for Employment Application

The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner of the State of Maryland was the first statewide Medical Examiners Office in the USA. Established in 1939, the Office investigates the cause of death in cases that fall under its jurisdiction as defined in the Annotated Code of Maryland, Health General Section