But the continued backlog means a final death certificate and cause of death in many cases have not been issued, which leaves the courts and, more importantly, families in the lurch.
While most autopsies are completed soon after death, the final report with the cause and manner of death can often take months or years. The industry standard is to have 90 percent of cases completed within 90 days.
Still, last year at this time, the office had more than 1,200 incomplete cases.
"When you're in a hole, the first thing you do is stop digging," Bill Barnes of the City Administrator's Office said of the limited reduction of the backlog.
More @ SF Examiner
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