Citation

Vij K. Med. Sci. Law 1999; 39(4): 345-348.

Affiliation

Department of Forensic Medicine, Government Medical College, Chandigarh, India.

Copyright

(Copyright © 1999, British Academy of Forensic Sciences, Publisher SAGE Publishing)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

10581916

Abstract

Virtually all forensic experts deal not only with criminal, suspicious, accidental and suicidal deaths, but are also confronted with a wide range of deaths where a significant natural element is revealed at autopsy. The assaulted victim that dies suddenly or unexpectedly from a stroke during or immediately succeeding the receipt of some non-fatal injuries, or otherwise suffers a clinically unexplained death, can pose far greater difficulties over causation than a gun-shot or a stabbing. This paper presents an analysis of the problem and an approach for determining the cause of death in cases of concurrent trauma with heart disease, and in cases with a substantial natural element of disease but exclusion of trauma. Relevant cases with history, autopsy findings, histopathological findings and toxicological findings are presented in order to illustrate the issue from a practical angle.

Language: en