- Email: [email protected]
Wife abuse — signs of physical violence (sample from city of Oporto and surroundings)
9
Sixth Cross Channel Conference on Forensic Medicine 1998
4. Payne-JamesJJ. The role of clinical forensic medicine in the assessment of alcohol misuse in the community.In: Bonner A, Watcrhouse J, (eds.) Addictive behaviour: moleculesto mankind. Perspectiveson the Nature of Addiction, 1996 5. Deehan A, Taylor C, Strang J. The GP, the drug misuser and the alcohol misuser: major differencesin GP activity, therapeutic commitment and 'shared care' proposals. British Journal of General Practice (in press) Fatal wounds caused by gunshots from blank cartridges D r Markus A. Rothschild
Institut fur Rechtsmedizin, Berlin, Germany Blank guns (e.g. starter's pistols) loaded with blank cartridges can result in severe and even lethal injuries when fired at close or contact range. In most fatalities, the head or the neck were the target areas, but also severe injuries of the thorax or the extremities could be seen in some cases. The most common cause of death was rapid exsanguination from ruptured blood vessels which had been injured by the gas pressure of the exploding propellant. The gas pressure caused by shots fired from blank cartridges can also cause fractures of the skull and result in lethal injuries of the brain. In one single case the victim died owing to an air embolism after a blank shot in the neck (contact discharge). Even without any manipulations/alterations of the guns or the blank ammunition and without using any (muzzle loaded) projectile, the jet of gas acts like a projectile owing to the high density of the energy flow. If injuries caused by shots from blank weapons were survived, the victims often suffered from severe wound infections. A selection of cases will be presented followed by a brief discussion about the wound ballistics. Cardiovascular disease, carbon monoxide, blood-alcohol levels and fire fatalities Sheldon Lapan*, John E. Smialek M D
*Research Epidemiologist, Forensic Medicine Centre, Baltimore, USA The purpose of this study is to examine the relationship between pre-exiting heart disease, carbon-monoxide concentrations and blood-alcohol levels among fire-fatality victims. In addition to having access to all autopsy and toxicological reports, the Maryland Centre for the Study of Health Effects of Fire has collected data on all fire fatalities in the state of M a r y l a n d over a 9-year period from 1989 to 1997. The hypothesis to be tested is that fire victims whose myocardial oxygen supply is already diminished owing to pre-existing heart disease would be expected to succumb to lower levels of CO. The fire-fatality study will be limited to residential fatalities occurring within 6 h of the fire. A detailed autopsy report for each fire victim will be used to determine the specific cause of death. CO and blood-alcohol concentrations will be obtained from toxicological analysis of the fire victims. The cause of each fire will be determined by the use of fire investigation reports. For purposes of analysis, social demographic variables such as age, race, sex will be used to further define and stratify the sample population. The research will statistically test the effects of CO and blood alcohol on fire victims to determine if there is either an additive or interaction effect.
An appropriate use of CS spray? Dr D. G. Atchison
Police Surgeon, Portsmouth, UK A CCTV video recording of CS spray being used to control an agitated detainee in a police station will be shown. The appropriateness of the use of CS spray in circumstances such as these will be discussed. A brief overview of the clinical effects of CS spray and its medical treatment will be presented. The use of art/interviews in forensic medicine Dr Linda Peterson P h D
Associate Professor of Paediatrics and Psychiatry, Nevada, USA New quantitative approaches using child art work offer objective and accurate information (valid positives and valid negatives) for medical assessment a n d criminal adjudication. Whereas art tasks for children are k n o w n to provide clues to possible abuse, used in c o m b i n a t i o n with art interview and story telling, the child's cross reference and accuracy can be determined. It is proposed that the forensic community use the Peterson and Hewitt approach to child investigation in c o m b i n a t i o n to provide better advocacy for children. During the Fourth Cross Channel Conference on Forensic Medicine, D r Peterson presented data on the H u m a n Figure Drawing Inventory to determine sexual abuse in children based on a study of 849 children, in this conference she will update the community on the use of the Kinetic Family Drawing to show child distress within the family situation. These findings have applicability to children exposed to drug and alcohol addiction, domestic violence and neglect. This presentation will include a case example of a child both physically and sexually abused in a home which served as a drug traffic ring. The issues of the child's abuse were complicated by an ongoing custody battle between parents, a communication breakdown in the child welfare system and parental inexperience with the legal and health system. S A T U R D A Y 16 MAY - P O S T E R S E S S I O N Wife abuse - signs of physical violence (sample from city of Oporto and surroundings) Ana Clara Grams, M. J. Carneiro de Sousa, J. Pinto da Costa, Ronald Roesch
Medico-Legal Institute, Oporto, Portugal Domestic violence is a serious public health problem. The victims are usually women, but their children, the abuser himself and, ultimately, society as a whole can also become victims. This retrospective study reviews the reports of medico-legal examinations performed on victims of domestic violence at the Oporto Medical Legal Institute. The purpose is to identify the forms of aggression, the resulting types of injuries and their location. This data is compared with data obtained from female victims of physical abuse outside marital relationships. No specific features were found to be useful as indicators of domestic violence. Therefore, doctors should routinely ask women with physical injuries not justified by the explanation they give, direct questions about domestic abuse. KEYWORDS injuries
case report, domestic violence, physical abuse,
Sixth Cross Channel Conference on Forensic Medicine 1998
4. Payne-JamesJJ. The role of clinical forensic medicine in the assessment of alcohol misuse in the community.In: Bonner A, Watcrhouse J, (eds.) Addictive behaviour: moleculesto mankind. Perspectiveson the Nature of Addiction, 1996 5. Deehan A, Taylor C, Strang J. The GP, the drug misuser and the alcohol misuser: major differencesin GP activity, therapeutic commitment and 'shared care' proposals. British Journal of General Practice (in press) Fatal wounds caused by gunshots from blank cartridges D r Markus A. Rothschild
Institut fur Rechtsmedizin, Berlin, Germany Blank guns (e.g. starter's pistols) loaded with blank cartridges can result in severe and even lethal injuries when fired at close or contact range. In most fatalities, the head or the neck were the target areas, but also severe injuries of the thorax or the extremities could be seen in some cases. The most common cause of death was rapid exsanguination from ruptured blood vessels which had been injured by the gas pressure of the exploding propellant. The gas pressure caused by shots fired from blank cartridges can also cause fractures of the skull and result in lethal injuries of the brain. In one single case the victim died owing to an air embolism after a blank shot in the neck (contact discharge). Even without any manipulations/alterations of the guns or the blank ammunition and without using any (muzzle loaded) projectile, the jet of gas acts like a projectile owing to the high density of the energy flow. If injuries caused by shots from blank weapons were survived, the victims often suffered from severe wound infections. A selection of cases will be presented followed by a brief discussion about the wound ballistics. Cardiovascular disease, carbon monoxide, blood-alcohol levels and fire fatalities Sheldon Lapan*, John E. Smialek M D
*Research Epidemiologist, Forensic Medicine Centre, Baltimore, USA The purpose of this study is to examine the relationship between pre-exiting heart disease, carbon-monoxide concentrations and blood-alcohol levels among fire-fatality victims. In addition to having access to all autopsy and toxicological reports, the Maryland Centre for the Study of Health Effects of Fire has collected data on all fire fatalities in the state of M a r y l a n d over a 9-year period from 1989 to 1997. The hypothesis to be tested is that fire victims whose myocardial oxygen supply is already diminished owing to pre-existing heart disease would be expected to succumb to lower levels of CO. The fire-fatality study will be limited to residential fatalities occurring within 6 h of the fire. A detailed autopsy report for each fire victim will be used to determine the specific cause of death. CO and blood-alcohol concentrations will be obtained from toxicological analysis of the fire victims. The cause of each fire will be determined by the use of fire investigation reports. For purposes of analysis, social demographic variables such as age, race, sex will be used to further define and stratify the sample population. The research will statistically test the effects of CO and blood alcohol on fire victims to determine if there is either an additive or interaction effect.
An appropriate use of CS spray? Dr D. G. Atchison
Police Surgeon, Portsmouth, UK A CCTV video recording of CS spray being used to control an agitated detainee in a police station will be shown. The appropriateness of the use of CS spray in circumstances such as these will be discussed. A brief overview of the clinical effects of CS spray and its medical treatment will be presented. The use of art/interviews in forensic medicine Dr Linda Peterson P h D
Associate Professor of Paediatrics and Psychiatry, Nevada, USA New quantitative approaches using child art work offer objective and accurate information (valid positives and valid negatives) for medical assessment a n d criminal adjudication. Whereas art tasks for children are k n o w n to provide clues to possible abuse, used in c o m b i n a t i o n with art interview and story telling, the child's cross reference and accuracy can be determined. It is proposed that the forensic community use the Peterson and Hewitt approach to child investigation in c o m b i n a t i o n to provide better advocacy for children. During the Fourth Cross Channel Conference on Forensic Medicine, D r Peterson presented data on the H u m a n Figure Drawing Inventory to determine sexual abuse in children based on a study of 849 children, in this conference she will update the community on the use of the Kinetic Family Drawing to show child distress within the family situation. These findings have applicability to children exposed to drug and alcohol addiction, domestic violence and neglect. This presentation will include a case example of a child both physically and sexually abused in a home which served as a drug traffic ring. The issues of the child's abuse were complicated by an ongoing custody battle between parents, a communication breakdown in the child welfare system and parental inexperience with the legal and health system. S A T U R D A Y 16 MAY - P O S T E R S E S S I O N Wife abuse - signs of physical violence (sample from city of Oporto and surroundings) Ana Clara Grams, M. J. Carneiro de Sousa, J. Pinto da Costa, Ronald Roesch
Medico-Legal Institute, Oporto, Portugal Domestic violence is a serious public health problem. The victims are usually women, but their children, the abuser himself and, ultimately, society as a whole can also become victims. This retrospective study reviews the reports of medico-legal examinations performed on victims of domestic violence at the Oporto Medical Legal Institute. The purpose is to identify the forms of aggression, the resulting types of injuries and their location. This data is compared with data obtained from female victims of physical abuse outside marital relationships. No specific features were found to be useful as indicators of domestic violence. Therefore, doctors should routinely ask women with physical injuries not justified by the explanation they give, direct questions about domestic abuse. KEYWORDS injuries
case report, domestic violence, physical abuse,