After a sudden death, the first official office most San Antonio families deal with is the Bexar County Medical Examiner’s Office. Its findings are also among the most important records in a later wrongful death claim. This article explains what the office does, what its records hold and how a family obtains them.
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Why the medical examiner is involved
Code of Criminal Procedure article 49.25 requires a medical examiner to investigate deaths in a list of situations, including when a person “is killed”, dies an unnatural death, or dies within 24 hours of admission to a hospital. Traffic deaths and deaths at work usually fall within it. The Bexar County office describes its job as investigating the deaths of people who die suddenly, violently or unexpectedly in the county, to determine the cause and the manner of death.
The office also points out that a death being reported to it does not always mean it takes jurisdiction. Most natural deaths, for example, stay outside its jurisdiction even when they must be reported. Names it is able to release are listed on the county’s death records search, and the office can be asked about a case by name, date of birth or case number.
What happens in the first days
- The family chooses a funeral home and tells it the medical examiner has the case. The office says the funeral home handles the paperwork.
- In most cases, the office says, the person is examined and released within 24 hours.
- There is no viewing at the office, and families are not asked to identify their loved one there. Viewing is arranged through the funeral home.
- Personal belongings are usually released with the body to the funeral home, except in cases where they go to law enforcement.
- Not every case has an autopsy. The medical examiner decides after reviewing the case. A family that does not want one should contact the office as soon as possible; the office says it tries to accommodate the family but some cases require an autopsy.
The autopsy report
The Bexar County office says the autopsy report is a public record. Article 49.25 says the records may not be withheld except under the discretionary exceptions of the Public Information Act, and it treats autopsy photographs and x-rays separately. The office says a report usually takes at least 12 weeks to complete, longer when more testing or investigation is needed, and asks that requests not be sent sooner, because it cannot accept requests for open cases.
To request it, the office asks for its request form with the person’s name, the date of death and a return address, or an email address for an emailed copy. Requests go by email, by mail to the office at 7337 Louis Pasteur Drive, or in person on weekdays during business hours. Fees are on the office’s fee schedule, and the office will say what they are if you ask by email. When law enforcement has an interest in the case, the office sends the records to the District Attorney’s Office for review before releasing them.
What the report can show
The office explains that it determines the cause of death by bringing together investigative information, medical records, the physical examination and laboratory testing. It distinguishes the underlying cause of death, the injury or disease that started the chain of events, from contributing causes, which add to a death without directly causing it.
In a wrongful death claim these findings matter in several ways. They connect the death to the injury, which the family must prove. Toxicology can show whether a driver was impaired, or answer an insurer who suggests the person who died was. And the findings can bear on the survival action, the claim for what the person went through before death.
Death certificates are separate
The medical examiner does not issue death certificates. It completes the medical part of the certificate, the funeral home completes the rest and files it, and funeral homes usually order the first copies. Further certified copies for deaths in San Antonio come from the Office of the City Clerk’s Vital Records, which issues them only to qualified applicants with documents showing the relationship. Our family checklist covers this and the other records a family meets.
When the death happened outside Bexar County
The Bexar County office has examined cases for several surrounding counties that have no medical examiner of their own, including Guadalupe and Kendall, but its page currently says it is not accepting out-of-county cases. If the death happened outside the county, the funeral home or the investigating police department can tell you which office has the case.
If you would like help obtaining these records, or want to understand what they mean for a claim, our wrongful death attorney San Antonio page explains how we work, and you can contact us at any hour.
This article is general information based on published sources as read in October 2026, not legal advice. Responsible attorney: Michael Uvalle, LAWBOSS – Harris, Nelsen & Uvalle, PLLC.
Questions people ask
Is a Bexar County autopsy report a public record?
Yes, according to the Bexar County Medical Examiner’s Office. Cases with law enforcement interest are reviewed by the District Attorney’s Office before release, and autopsy photographs and x-rays are treated separately under article 49.25.
Can we ask that no autopsy be done?
You can ask. The office says to contact it as soon as possible, that it tries to accommodate the family’s wishes, and that in some cases an autopsy is required.