Trivial trauma, heart disease and medico-legal interpretation of death.
Forensic experts are often required to give an opinion on the cause of death and its medico-legal interpretation in cases where an individual dies after receiving non-fatal injuries and at autopsy is discovered to have had a natural disease that alone could have caused death. The significance of this varies in different countries depending on the local laws relating to death in cases of trivial trauma associated with natural disease. This paper discusses this issue from an Indian perspective with the help of an illustrative case report and highlights the importance of the forensic pathologist in such cases.
Kohli
Anil
A
Department of Forensic Medicine, University College of Medical Sciences and Guru Teg Bahadur Hospital, Delhi-110095, India. anil_kohli@hotmail.com
Mishra
Kiran
K
D000293:Adolescent; D002423:Cause of Death; D016757:Death, Sudden, Cardiac / Q000209:etiology* / Q000473:pathology; D005554:Forensic Medicine / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence*; D006331:Heart Diseases / Q000473:pathology*; D006801:Humans; D007194:India; D008297:Male; D009205:Myocarditis / Q000401:mortality; D010493:Pericarditis / Q000401:mortality; D015599:Trauma Severity Indices