No body viewing
Panwar repeatedly testified that she did not see or examine Gina's body before signing the certificate.
DEATH CERTIFICATE · STATUTORY CONFLICT
The pronouncer entry appears illegal on the present record.
Dr. Nirmala Panwar testified under oath that she did not see Gina Gazvoda's body. The death certificate nevertheless identifies her as the practitioner who pronounced Gina dead and also as the medical certifier.
WHAT IS VERIFIED
The record-to-testimony conflict
Named as pronouncer
The death certificate identifies Panwar in the pronouncement fields and again in the medical-certification fields.
No identified alternate pronouncer
The face of the certificate does not identify the EMS practitioner who apparently made the actual determination and pronouncement.
Current public finding: Because the named pronouncer testified that she never viewed the body, the pronouncement entry appears to violate Connecticut General Statutes § 7-62b(c). This is an apparent statutory violation, not a final adjudication of civil, criminal, licensing, or disciplinary liability.
THE 2021 LAW
Personal viewing was required unless the signer was only a different medical certifier
Connecticut General Statutes § 7-62b(c), as in effect in 2021, prohibited a physician or other listed professional from signing and returning the medical certification unless that professional personally viewed and examined the body and was satisfied the person was dead. The statute excused a second viewing only when the medical certifier was different from the person who made the determination and pronouncement of death.
Connecticut General Statutes § 7-62b(c)
The exception applies to a later medical certifier who did not make the pronouncement. It does not support identifying a non-viewing physician as the pronouncer.
Read the 2021 statute →Panwar deposition
The public transcript records Panwar's testimony concerning the two signatures, funeral-home precompletion, lack of body viewing, and her role in entering the medical conditions.
Open the deposition transcript →WHY THE DISTINCTION MATTERS
Pronouncement and medical certification are separate functions
Actual determinationPanwar testified that paramedics had seen Gina and made the death determination.
Certificate entryThe certificate identifies Panwar—not the EMS practitioner—as pronouncer.
Medical certificationPanwar also signed the medical certification and said she wrote the listed medical conditions.
Missing correctionNo complete EDRS audit or corrected certificate naming the actual pronouncer has been produced.
Legal boundary: The current record supports calling the pronouncer entry apparently illegal or apparently unlawful. It does not yet establish who selected that entry, who entered it into the registry, whether Panwar understood every field, or whether any person acted knowingly.
RELATED CERTIFICATE DEFECTS
The pronouncement issue is part of a larger version and source-control failure
Two signing events
Panwar testified that she signed on two occasions after a funeral-home representative returned over a time-related change.
First version missing
The first signed form, correction worksheet, EDRS change log, and complete amendment trail have not been produced.
Medical basis unresolved
The controlled 828 packet contains no November 2021 examination or contemporaneous rationale supporting the three listed causes of death.
Field authorship unresolved
The funeral home acknowledged participating in certificate completion, but no field-by-field source and authorship log has been produced.
What would resolve this: the first signed certificate, native EDRS history, registrar correction records, 828 scan metadata, identity of the funeral-home representative, and identity of the officer Panwar said was outside or in a vehicle.
Responsible-use notice: This page reports a documented statutory conflict. It does not accuse Dr. Panwar, a funeral-home employee, a police officer, or any other person of knowingly falsifying a record, committing perjury, forgery, or causing Gina's death. Those conclusions require additional evidence and lawful adjudication.