A Family Member Dies in a Taiwan Hospital: Autopsy Requests, Criminal Complaints and Mandatory Mediation

Two days after routine surgery in Taipei, an American teacher's husband is dead. His sister flies in from Ohio first; the funeral home asks about cremation dates (an invented example). Nobody has explained what happened. Can the family stop the clock and ask for an autopsy?

Partly. Under Article 10 of Taiwan's Forensic Pathologist Act, a request from the deceased's spouse or a lineal blood relative obliges the forensic pathologist to recommend an autopsy to the prosecutor in writing. A sister is not on that list. The widow is, and so are the deceased's parents and children.

Who examines the body

Deaths that are not natural, or may not be, call for a prompt examination by the prosecutor (Code of Criminal Procedure Article 218). A doctor examining a body who has that suspicion must report it to the prosecutors' office (Physicians Act Article 16). Family members can also file a criminal complaint; when the victim has died, the spouse, lineal relatives, collateral relatives within the third degree, in-laws within the second degree and certain household members may do so (Code of Criminal Procedure Article 233). The prosecutor decides whether to order an autopsy (Code of Criminal Procedure Articles 212 and 213, item 4). Cremation closes that door.

Mediation pauses the investigation

Taiwan's Medical Accident Prevention and Dispute Resolution Act took effect on January 1, 2024. Under its Article 16, a criminal case over a medical dispute that prosecutors are investigating goes first to the local medical dispute mediation board, and the investigation is suspended during mediation (Article 16). Cases that already failed mediation under the Act are among the exceptions. The board must meet within 45 days of a complete file and finish within three months, with limited extensions (Article 14). Which board? If the patient lived in the same city or county as the hospital, that local board; if not, the board where the hospital is (Article 13).

Hospitals have their own early duty. A care team must explain and communicate with the patient's family within five working days after a medical accident, with trained help where language or culture gets in the way (Article 6). Expressions of regret or apology in those conversations cannot be used as evidence in the case unless all parties to the dispute agree (Article 7).

A stated cause of death is not proof of fault

A December 2024 judgment of the Hsinchu District Court shows the gap. An inpatient fell in a hospital room and died the next day. The prosecutors' certificate gave the cause as a fall from the bed, blunt head injury and intracranial bleeding. The criminal complaint against the nurse and others still ended without charges, and a civil claim for NT$700,000 failed: the court found no need to restrain the patient that day, and a single witness on whether the bed rails were up was not enough (judgment). It is a first-instance judgment, and the judgment database shows no later appeal record.

The legal bar is specific. Medical staff face criminal liability for a negligent death only if they breached the necessary standard of medical care and went beyond reasonable clinical discretion (Medical Care Act Article 82, paragraph 3). Prosecutors and courts can commission an opinion from the Ministry of Health and Welfare's medical review board (Article 98, paragraph 1, item 4). Negligent homicide does not require a complaint to be prosecuted (Criminal Code Article 287). A complainant who receives a non-prosecution decision has 10 days to seek reconsideration (Code of Criminal Procedure Article 256).

The civil claim

Civil suits need mediation first too. File without it and the first-instance court sends the case to mediation and suspends the proceedings (Article 15 of the Act). In a Chiayi case, the court had already closed argument and set a judgment date when, in May 2026, it reopened the case for that reason. Mediation failed, and in September the court dismissed the parents' claim after reviewing the records and the medical review board's opinion. The parents have appealed (judgment, first instance, not final).

Recoverable items include medical and funeral costs and support for anyone the deceased was legally obliged to maintain (Civil Code Article 192), and non-pecuniary damages for the deceased's parents, children and spouse (Article 194). Heirs can request copies of the medical records, which the facility must provide within seven working days (Article 10 of the Act). Records requests and mediation for injured patients are covered in Injured at a Taiwan hospital.

For a family based abroad, a Taiwan lawyer can file the complaint and the autopsy request, act as the family's agent in mediation, seek reconsideration and bring the civil claim. Hovering International Law Firm (昊鼎國際法律事務所) offers consultations with an English-speaking lawyer in Taipei at wei@hoveringlaw.com.tw. The Taipei office is at 7F-2, No. 35, Sec. 1, Chengde Rd., Datong Dist., Taipei City 103 (103 臺北市大同區承德路一段35號7樓之2); the Taichung office is at 6F-1, No. 19, Guanqian Rd., North Dist., Taichung City 40453 (40453 臺中市北區館前路19號6樓之1).

Official sources

Checked October 22, 2026.

• Medical Accident Prevention and Dispute Resolution Act (醫療事故預防及爭議處理法), Articles 6, 7, 10, 13, 14, 15, 16, 28 and 30; effective date in the Executive Yuan Gazette.
• Regulations on the Organization and Operation of Medical Dispute Mediation Boards (醫療爭議調解會組織及運作辦法), Article 7.
• Code of Criminal Procedure (刑事訴訟法), Articles 212, 213, 218, 233 and 256.
• Forensic Pathologist Act (法醫師法), Article 10; Physicians Act (醫師法), Article 16.
• Medical Care Act (醫療法), Articles 82 and 98.
• Criminal Code of the Republic of China (中華民國刑法), Articles 276 and 287.
• Civil Code (民法), Articles 192 and 194.
• Judicial Yuan judgments: Hsinchu District Court 113 Yi No. 2 (December 31, 2024, first instance); Chiayi District Court 113 Yi No. 4: ruling reopening argument, May 7, 2026, judgment, September 9, 2026 (first instance), order on the appeal fee, October 5, 2026.