Central Florida family’s ordeal over delayed death certificate comes to an end after months of limbo

Unsigned death certificate prohibits funeral

Robert Larson died at the end of October, but his family was unable to hold a funeral service because no one would sign his death certificate.

CELEBRATION, Fla. - For months, a family has been searching for answers on why no one would sign their loved one's death certificate.

Robert Larson died at the end of October in Celebration. His death was ruled as "natural causes" by the Osceola County Sheriff's Deputies.

Kristin Minall called FOX 35 desperate for help.

Minall and the family thought their next step would be to bury Larson, but instead, they were stuck in limbo trying to get his death certificate signed.

The Orange and Osceola County Medical Examiner's offices said Larson's death was ruled natural causes, and the office isn't obligated to sign the death certificate. This responsibility is left to the deceased person's last doctor. In this case, Larson's cardiologist would have been the last person to treat him.

Minall said she hadn't been getting anywhere for months about getting someone to sign the death certificate.

Photo: Kristin Minall

FOX 35 made a call to the Medical Examiner to get clarity.

In a statement, Sheri Blanton with the Medical Examiner's office said, "Because the death did not fall under our jurisdiction, the family's selected funeral home would seek the individual's practitioner to sign the death certificate."

After that call, Minall got a call the next day that her brother's death certificate was signed.

"We finally said, 'Let's try to get the media involved and see if we can get some results,' and obviously it worked because they signed the cardiologist signed today," Minall said.

FOX 35 spoke with Dr. Matthew Sparks, a family medicine physician. He said this type of scenario isn't uncommon. Some doctors who haven't seen their patients as frequently are going to be more hesitant to sign a death certificate.

"The doctor feels, well, I don't really know what happened, I'm not 100% certain, I don't want the family coming back saying, ‘Oh well, you said this was the cause of death,’ so sometimes, they just try and back away."

Dr. Sparks said he knows the importance of getting it signed quickly so families can begin the healing process.

For Minall and her family, they're glad they can have closure during the holidays.

"I hope nobody else ever has to go through this again," she said. "I really do because it's not a good experience."