Citation

Galatsis K. Med. Sci. Law 2015; 56(3): 184-189.

Affiliation

Material Science and Engineering Department, School of Engineering and Applied Science, University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), CA, USA galatsis@gmail.com.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2015, British Academy of Forensic Sciences, Publisher SAGE Publishing)

DOI

10.1177/0025802415590174

PMID

26137848

Abstract

Unintentional carbon monoxide poisonings and fatalities lead to many toxicity cases. Given the unusual physical properties of carbon monoxide-in that the gas is odorless and invisible-unorganized and erroneous methods in obtaining engineering evidence as required during the discovery process often occurs. Such evidence gathering spans domains that include building construction, appliance installation, industrial hygiene, mechanical engineering, combustion and physics. In this paper, we attempt to place a systematic framework that is relevant to key aspects in engineering evidence gathering for unintentional carbon monoxide poisoning cases. Such a framework aims to increase awareness of this process and relevant issues to help guide legal counsel and expert witnesses.

Language: en