Delays in Signing Death Certificates

Re the Armstrong death certificate case (“Death Certificate Charges Rejected,” Oct. 17): My mother passed away at a local hospital early on a Friday evening. I made arrangements with a mortuary in Los Angeles to transport her remains that night.

I later received a call from the mortuary saying that her remains could not be released because the physician on call would not sign her death certificate since he knew nothing about her case and had not treated her personally. I was told that her death certificate would have to wait for one of her attending physicians to sign the following morning.

As a retired hospital administrator, I know that medical staff bylaws routinely state that when a physician is not available, he must have another physician on call to cover his hospitalized patients.

As for my personal situation, I insisted on speaking with the on-call physician and explained to him the importance of releasing my mother’s remains that night, and he accommodated me.

Had he not, I would have asked the nursing office to contact the chief of staff, and if he or his alternate failed to respond, then the hospital administrator who represents the hospital’s governing board.

I have tremendous empathy for the Armstrong family. The last thing a family needs during their initial grieving period is to have to fight for their loved one’s rights.

RICHARD M. VOGEL, Laguna Hills