(NBC News) – Death investigation experts say these mistakes are preventable. Coroners and medical examiners, they say, should adopt detailed written protocols for identifying and contacting next of kin. And when exhaustive efforts to find families fall short, experts say officials should post the names of the unclaimed dead to a government database where families can search for loved ones.

But some coroners and medical examiners have no written next-of-kin notification policies, and the vast majority do not post the names of unclaimed dead to the federal database, an NBC News investigation has found. (Read More)