Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations
Make a sustaining gift today to support local journalism!

N.H. Attorney General: State Needs Another Medical Examiner To Deal With Opioid Deaths

Paige Sutherland for NHPR

The Attorney General's office wants to hire another medical examiner to help deal with the spike in drug-related deaths.

New Hampshire's two full-time medical examiners have taken 486 cases so far this year. That puts them on pace to exceed professional guidelines around how many autopsies examiners should perform per year. Most of the backlog is due to drug overdose deaths, which are expected to top 500 this year.

The backlog is so large that Chief Medical Examiner Thomas Andrew says he's just now working on a death from July.

The justice department wants to hire a third medical examiner as part of the next two-year state budget. Deputy Attorney General Ann Rice said New Hampshire pays its medical examiners lower salaries than other states.

Related Content

You make NHPR possible.

NHPR is nonprofit and independent. We rely on readers like you to support the local, national, and international coverage on this website. Your support makes this news available to everyone.

Give today. A monthly donation of $5 makes a real difference.