Rising cases require help

AIKEN --- Two years ago, nine men and women stood before an Aiken County judge and were sworn in as part-time coroners.

Now, as his office's work load increases every year, Coroner Tim Carlton said he's down to just two men helping deal with the county's dead.

It might be time to get a new full-time deputy coroner, Mr. Carlton said, which would be the first in nearly a decade if approved by county council members.

"It's about time for another person," Mr. Carlton said.

He doesn't blame the part-time coroners who left, one of whom recently quit because he relocated to another county.

One of the other part-time corners, Mr. Carlton said, recently retired from his full-time job, so he can take on more duties.

Part-time coroners work weekends and are paid for each case they work, he said.

But a quarter of the deaths happen over the weekend, Mr. Carlton said.

The last deputy coroner was hired around four years ago, but the department hasn't added another staff position in nearly a decade.

"Our responsibilities and caseload have increased dramatically since 1999," Mr. Carlton said. "It's probably time for us to revisit that."

Last year, the coroner's office -- which contacts the deceased's next of kin, attends autopsies and evaluates injuries -- handled 1,042 cases. The year before, that number was at 967.

Mr. Carlton said he's training two potential part-time coroners, but the job doesn't pay much:

- $75 if they attend an autopsy;

- $40 if they go to the scene of a death;

- And $20 if they handle a call over the phone, typically ones where the person died somewhere such as a hospice.

Mr. Carlton said the class offered a couple of years ago drew more than 20 people but less than half graduated.

Mr. Carlton said many people do not realize what they're signing up for, and some cannot handle the hours and gruesome deaths they sometimes have to see.

"Being a coroner is a lot more demanding physically and emotionally than it appears on TV," Mr. Carlton said.

Reach Sandi Martin at (803) 648-1395, ext. 111, or sandi.martin@augustachronicle.com.