§ 37.202 Payment for autopsy.

(a) NIOSH may, at its discretion, pay any pathologist who has received prior authorization for payment from NIOSH pursuant to § 37.204(a). Payment will only be provided with proof that legal consent for an autopsy as required by applicable law from the next of kin or other authorized person has been obtained, or that consent is not required, such as for a forensic autopsy. Payment may be provided to a pathologist who: (1) Performs an autopsy on a miner in accordance with this subpart; and (2) Submits the findings and other materials to NIOSH in accordance with this subpart within 180 calendar days after having performed the autopsy. (i) Types of chest radiographic images accepted for submission include a digital chest image (posteroanterior view) provided in an electronic format consistent with the DICOM standards described in § 37.42(c)(5), a chest computed tomography provided in an electronic format consistent with DICOM standards, or a good-quality copy or original of a film chest radiograph (posteroanterior view). (ii) More than one type of chest radiographic image may be submitted. (b) If payments are available, pathologists will be compensated in accordance with their ordinary, usual, or customary fees or at amounts determined through negotiation with NIOSH. To inform payment amounts, NIOSH may collect information about the fees charged by other pathologists with the same board certifications for the same services, in the same geographic area. NIOSH will additionally compensate a pathologist for the submission of chest radiographic images made of the subject of the autopsy within 5 years prior to their death together with copies of any interpretations made. (c) A pathologist (or the pathologist's employer, the organization in which the pathologist practices, or another entity receiving payment on behalf of or for services provided by the pathologist) who receives any other specific payment, fee, or reimbursement in connection with the autopsy from the miner's surviving spouse, family, estate, or any other Federal agency will not receive payment from NIOSH.