ABSTRACT
Accidental deaths pose unique challenges to the Death scene Investigator (DSI). Individual circumstances may dictate a different order. This procedure should be used when the DSI Decision Tree indicates a preliminary investigative direction for accidental death. Death scenes are often highly complex and require skilled care and methodical processing. An accidental death results from an act or activity whose outcome is not expected to cause death. The medical examiner, coroner, or their representative may wish to be present at the scene during the processing of the body or to conduct examinations. A team briefing is only one aspect of death scene management. One of the least enviable tasks of the death investigator is the necessity to make death notification to the deceased's next of kin. In the case of homicide, the police investigator or detective should make the notification if there is an expectation of a spontaneous exclamation.
