Sec. 9. 22 MRSA §3025, sub-§1, ķA, as repealed and replaced by PL 1985, c. 611, §6, is repealed and the following enacted in its place:

A.__Death is suspected of having been caused by any type of physical injury, including poisoning, regardless of whether the suspected manner of death is homicide, suicide or accident;

Sec. 10. 22 MRSA §3025, sub-§2, as repealed and replaced by PL 1985, c. 611, §6, is amended to read:

2. Attendance by physician. A medical examiner case exists under the circumstances identified in subsection 1, paragraph A whenever the death is wholly or in part ascribable to violence or poisoning physical injury, regardless of whether the deceased had been attended by a physician, was a patient in a hospital, survived for considerable time or died with from the terminal natural causes consequent to and following from the injury or poisoning physical injury.

Sec. 11. 22 MRSA §3025, sub-§4, as amended by PL 1987, c. 296, §3, is further amended to read:

4. Questionable cases and cases that may constitute exceptions. All questionable cases shall must be reported. Acceptance of any questionable case is to be determined by the Chief Medical Examiner unless acceptance is specifically ordered by the Attorney General or district attorney having jurisdiction.

Deaths due to the consequences of long-term alcohol use, long- term exposure to environmental or occupational toxins or long- term exposure to carcinogens shall must be reported, but need not be accepted.

Sudden natural deaths in the elderly who have not had previous specific symptoms or who were not under treatment by a physician for the specific natural cause that is considered to be the cause of death shall must be reported to the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner. Those cases may be referred back to the attending physician by the Chief Medical Examiner for certification of the death, even though the attending physician has not treated the patient for the specific natural disease that he the attending physician will enter as his the attending physician's diagnosis.