NCJ Number
214145
Date Published
2006
Length
24 pages
Annotation
In discussing medicolegal issues in the investigation of deaths that involve coexisting injury and disease in the victim, this chapter focuses on the mechanisms of death and the role of the autopsy in the investigation.
Abstract
In determining cause of death when the decedent has both a life-threatening disease and has had a serious accident, it is only by considering plausible mechanisms of death that the cause of death can be placed in the context of time and event sequences. In determining the mechanism of death, the medical examiner examines what occurred in the victim's body to cause vital biological functions to cease, thus causing death. This requires examining likely mechanisms of death. This chapter discusses 11 mechanisms of death, i.e., internal and external events that can have lethal consequences for the human body. This is followed by a discussion of the role of the autopsy in the formulation of cause-of-death opinions. The discussion includes guidelines for using the death certificate format as an official instrument for indicating the cause and manner of death. The concluding section of the chapter discusses the significance of determining whether coexisting trauma and disease are related to or coincidental to the cause of death. This involves determining the sequence in time of the active effects of the disease on the body, the timing of accidental events in relation to specific disease activity, and the consequences for the body of disease and injury acting separately and/or in combination. The goal is to isolate the sources and the effects of factors related to the timing of the death. 1 table and 15 references