Ethical and Legal Considerations

In the United States, medical examiner and coroner offices are legally responsible for the bodies and human remains falling under their jurisdiction by state statutes, and they have the primary responsibility for mass fatality management and disaster victim identification. Missing persons statutes explicitly authorize law enforcement to collect certain personal information as well as prescribe certain data to be collected or steps to be taken during such investigations. The primary statutory scheme governing federal disaster relief in the United States is the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (Stafford Act), 42 USC. The military, as a significant source of manpower and resources, is often called upon for federal relief and participates in homeland security. Congress consolidated all transportation agencies into the Department of Transportation in 1967. The ethical and legal concerns specific to disaster victim identification per se centers on the notion of respect for persons.