Fairchild v. Ada County

Citations

• 6 Idaho 340
• 55 P. 654
• 1898 Ida. LEXIS 65

Syllabus

<p>.Inquest — Coroner—Physician.—When a physician or surgeon has been subpoenaed and ordered by a county coroner, under the provisions of section 8379 of the Revised Statutes, to inspect the body of a deceased person, and to give to the coroner’s jury his professional opinion as to the cause of death, the reasonable value of his services in making the inspection is a charge against the county, under the provisions of section 2161 of the Revised Statutes, and acts amendatory thereof, defining what claims are charges against a county.</p> <p>Same — Autopsy.—If, in such case, an autopsy is necessary to ascertain the cause of death, and such autopsy is made by a physician or surgeon under the provisions of said section 8379 of the Revised Statutes, he is entitled to recover from the county the reasonable value of his services in making such post mortem examination.</p> <p>Same — What Compensation Physician is Entitled to. — A physician or surgeon is not entitled to the compensation aforesaid on the ground that he is an expert witness, but for the work and labor-necessary in the examination of the body, in order to prepare himself to give an intelligent opinion to the jury of the cause of the death of the deceased.</p> <p>Liability of County — Authority of Coroner.- — The coroner is not authorized to make a contract as to the sum the county shall pay-in such cases. And the board of county commissioners should only allow the reasonable value of such services.</p> <p>(Syllabus by the court.)</p>