When notified of a child’s death under Section 264.513, a medical examiner or justice of the peace must hold an inquest, and if the death appears unexpected or due to abuse or neglect they must notify local law enforcement. County commissioners courts must also adopt timeliness regulations for child-death inquests, and the review team must be notified by day 120.
Sec. 264.514. PROCEDURE IN THE EVENT OF REPORTABLE DEATH. Text of subsection effective until April 01, 2027 (a) A medical examiner or justice of the peace notified of a death of a child under Section 264.513 shall hold an inquest under Chapter 49, Code of Criminal Procedure, to determine whether the death is unexpected or the result of abuse or neglect. An inquest is not required under this subchapter if the child's death is expected and is due to a congenital or neoplastic disease. A death caused by an infectious disease may be considered an expected death if: (1) the disease was not acquired as a result of trauma or poisoning; (2) the infectious organism is identified using standard medical procedures; and (3) the death is not reportable to the Department of State Health Services under Chapter 81, Health and Safety Code. Text of subsection effective on April 01, 2027 (a) A medical examiner or justice of the peace notified of a death of a child under Section 264.513 shall hold an inquest under Chapter 49A, Code of Criminal Procedure, to determine whether the death is unexpected or the result of abuse or neglect. An inquest is not required under this subchapter if the child's death is expected and is due to a congenital or neoplastic disease. A death caused by an infectious disease may be considered an expected death if: (1) the disease was not acquired as a result of trauma or poisoning; (2) the infectious organism is identified using standard medical procedures; and (3) the death is not reportable to the Department of State Health Services under Chapter 81, Health and Safety Code. (a-1) The commissioners court of a county shall adopt regulations relating to the timeliness for conducting an inquest into the death of a child. The regulations adopted under this subsection must be as stringent as the standards issued by the National Association of Medical Examiners unless the commissioners court determines that it would be cost prohibitive for the county to comply with those standards. (b) The medical examiner or justice of the peace shall immediately notify an appropriate local law enforcement agency if the medical examiner or justice of the peace determines that the death is unexpected or the result of abuse or neglect, and that agency shall investigate the child's death. The medical examiner or justice of the peace shall notify the appropriate county child fatality review team of the child's death not later than the 120th day after the date the death is reported. (c) In this section, the terms "abuse" and "neglect" have the meaning assigned those terms by Section 261.001. Added by Acts 1995, 74th Leg., ch. 255, Sec. 2, eff. Sept. 1, 1995; Acts 1995, 74th Leg., ch. 878, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1995. Amended by Acts 1997, 75th Leg., ch. 1022, Sec. 95, eff. Sept. 1, 1997; Acts 1997, 75th Leg., ch. 1301, Sec. 2, eff. Sept. 1, 1997; Acts 1999, 76th Leg., ch. 785, Sec. 3, eff. Sept. 1, 1999. Amended by: Acts 2015, 84th Leg., R.S., Ch. 1 (S.B. 219), Sec. 1.199, eff. April 2, 2015. Acts 2017, 85th Leg., R.S., Ch. 822 (H.B. 1549), Sec. 11(a), eff. September 1, 2017. Acts 2025, 89th Leg., R.S., Ch. 202 (H.B. 1610), Sec. 2.05, eff. April 1, 2027.