Medico-legal Journal

Eye examination plays an important role when living individuals are forensically investigated. The iris colour, retinal scans and other biometric features may be used for identification purposes while visual impairments may have legal implications in employment, driving and accidents. Ocular manifestations provide clues regarding substance abuse, poisoning and toxicity, and evidence of trauma, abuse or disease can be revealed along with psychological traits and lifestyle. Thus, the eye is a valuable tool in forensic investigations of living subjects, providing identifying characteristics along with health information...

Sudden death from haemopericardium as a result of a right atrial rupture is uncommon, most particularly when this occurs spontaneously without any prior trauma or evidence of atrial wall pathology. The deceased was a 32-year-old man. At lunchtime his symptoms of unease, giddiness and unconsciousness began and within 45 minutes he arrived at the hospital. His vitals could not be recorded in the emergency department, and after CPR, he was pronounced dead. At autopsy, an isolated right atrial rupture, without any disease of the heart wall, was discovered...

We describe a rare case of severe primary spondylitis caused by Streptococcus gordonii in a 45-year-old immunocompetent woman with no relevant comorbidities. The surgical site infection arose after a L4-L5 microdiscectomy and resulted in severe clinical disability. Allegations of possible negligence as the cause prompted a forensic review to clarify the original source and transmission of this uncommon pathogen, which dismissed its cause as due to malpractice during treatment.

No abstract text is available yet for this article.

The Marriage and Civil Partnership (Minimum Age) Act 2022 came into force in England on 27 February 2023 and made both registered and unregistered marriages involving people under 18 illegal in England and Wales. This means that such marriages which take place outside England and Wales will not be recognised and those who organised them, including parents, will have committed a criminal offence.This review considers issues related to families where such marriages have happened, including their impact on the health of the victim and any resulting children...

No abstract text is available yet for this article.

The authors examine the evolution of the role of resident doctors on cruise ships dating back to the Roman and Byzantine empires, then in the Middle ages. In the past surgery was rarely performed by doctors, but by barber-surgeons, who, with their razor skills, did everything from haircuts to amputations. More recently, as in the last century, the first royal decrees were issued, pillar by pillar, forming the regulatory basis governing health care on board Italian or foreign ships travelling to and from national ports...

No abstract text is available yet for this article.

Most bee stings are not life-threatening. Bee venom often causes local, mild allergic reactions in people, but even a single bee sting may induce a fatal anaphylactic reaction. Usually, anaphylactic reaction is the cause of death, but, when a child suffers multiple stings (more than 30), direct toxicity of venom can also be fatal. A three-year-old male child was brought to the hospital with pain, swelling and redness at the sting sites. He had more than 35 stings at various sites over his face, on his tongue and over his body...

There is litigation in respect of dementia in ex-rugby football players. The allegation is that these ex-players have suffered a traumatic encephalopathy syndrome causing dementia and other neurological problems. The syndrome is alleged to have been caused by repeated concussion during play. It is alleged that governing bodies of rugby should have been aware, and players should have been warned, of this risk. The dilemma, for both claimants and defendants, is that there is no agreed definition of the syndrome nor are there any diagnostic tests that confirm or refute this diagnosis...

The suitability of an unregistered expert psychologist to give evidence to the Family Court was considered in Re C [2023] EWHC 345 (Fam). An important part of the judgment focused on the need for an expert witness to demonstrate, in a short, concise and relevant CV, why they have the expertise to give opinion evidence in the case. The judgment has important implications for experts in civil litigation, where the same issues arise. The case of Re C is reviewed and recommendations for a new format for part of expert reports provided in civil litigation are discussed...

No abstract text is available yet for this article.

Child sexual abuse is a public health and medico-legal problem in developed and developing countries. Prompted by rare presentations of cases from this issue that change the course and outcome of events, we present the completed criminal-medico-legislative procedure as a contribution to the dynamics of the investigative process from my own many years of forensic practice. Two preschool teachers of late reproductive age from a home for neglected children reported to the State Attorney's Office a former ward of the home, now an older minor, and an auxiliary employee of the same home, for having sexual relations with a two-year-old girl...

Many physicians, particularly neurosurgeons, face malpractice claims during their career. The aim of this paper is to identify which factors increase the risk of litigation and influence legal outcomes relating to cerebrospinal fluid shunt management. Westlaw, an online legal database, was used to identify all medico-legal cases pertaining to cerebrospinal fluid shunts. Information regarding plaintiff demographics, defendant specialties, reasons for litigation, and trial outcomes were analysed. Thirty-six cases met criteria for inclusion...

Both Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder and Complex Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder are prevalent in prison settings. Both often go undetected and untreated, while prisoners who already suffered previous trauma may be re-traumatised upon imprisonment. The current study aimed to conduct a national survey of all Welsh prisons to gather information about existing services and treatments for traumatic stress. The survey identified variation within Welsh prisons with regard to NICE-recommended evidence-based therapies...

The use of non-lethal weapons has spread worldwide, being introduced as an alternative to firearms in many countries such as the United States or the United Kingdom. Among non-lethal weapons, conducted electrical weapons have been adopted worldwide, to control unruly suspected criminals or to neutralise violent situations. The stun gun belongs to this category and is the most widely available, with more than 140,000 units in use by police officers in the field in the US, and an additional 100,000 electrical stun guns owned by civilians worldwide...

Since its launch, ChatGPT, an artificial intelligence-powered language model tool, has generated significant attention in research writing. The use of ChatGPT in medical research can be a double-edged sword. ChatGPT can expedite the research writing process by assisting with hypothesis formulation, literature review, data analysis and manuscript writing. On the other hand, using ChatGPT raises concerns regarding the originality and authenticity of content, the precision and potential bias of the tool's output, and the potential legal issues associated with privacy, confidentiality and plagiarism...

Posthumous conception, the ability to conceive a child after the death of one partner, is increasingly prevalent due to advances in Artificial Reproduction Technology (ART). This paper considers the complexities surrounding the practice in Australia, focusing primarily on the ethical and legal dimensions. It observes that state-based regulations in Australia create disparities in accessibility: some states prohibit the procedure without the deceased's written consent, while others permit it based on guidelines or lack explicit prohibitions...

BACKGROUND: Self-inflicting injury is a recognised psychiatric disorder. Such cases are regularly seen in the emergency department, with a false history of assault. Most of these are easily detected by a forensic medicine expert as they present as described in literature but are difficult to explain if altered by professionals for nefarious reasons. METHOD: This was a prospective study carried out at a tertiary centre. The data was collected and analysed from the office records of medico-legal reports prepared at our institute between 25 February 2022 and 25 February 2023...

BACKGROUND: In addition to poor infrastructure, and human resource constraints, forensic medicine specialists in developing countries face many external challenges. OBJECTIVES: We aimed to investigate the prevalence, type, and source of external challenges confronting them including sex, age, religion, deceased's place of residence and the number of accompanying relatives. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This cross-sectional, observational study was conducted between August 2020 and July 2022 at the Mortuary of AIIMS, Bhubaneswar with the approval of the ethical committee...