Forensic Pathology News
Dr. Young will post links to news articles that interest him about
forensic pathology, medical examiners, coroners and death
investigation in this section.
Pathology in the News
- As coronavirus spreads, medical examiner tells staff to take ‘bare minimum’ of cases
- The state’s chief medical examiner, whose office is responsible for investigating unexplained deaths statewide, has told staff members to cut their “workload to a bare minimum” and to no longer accept certain “flu-like” cases as the deadly coronavirus expands across Massachusetts. [A much better approach. Coroners and ME’s need to stay out of the way of COVID-19.]
- 5 Investigates: State medical examiner securing additional capacity, if necessary
- 5 Investigates has learned that the medical examiner's office is securing off-site locations for extra capacity. It includes considering use of the fairgrounds at The Big E in Springfield as an off-site mortuary location.
- In Miami, hospitals aren’t only medical facilities bracing for COVID-19. So is the morgue
- So forensic pathologists must work closely with doctors at hospitals, all while trying to stay healthy themselves to still be able to conduct autopsies on people who die in other ways — such as car accidents, shootings and suicides. Those autopsies are continuing as normal, while experts say the risk of a pathologist catching COVID-19 during the procedures are low because the doctors normally wear masks, gloves and gowns anyway.
- A look at America’s dire need for medical examiners
- The shortage of pathologists is a national problem that demands the immediate attention of the government. Medical examiners’ offices are struggling with resources and affecting counties large and small. The inability to aid in law enforcement investigations is a big system failure. But the crisis also hinders other processes, like issuing death certificates on time or reporting overdose causes to the authorities to prevent those drug deaths from spiking.
- What precautions the Cook County medical examiner is taking with coronavirus deaths
- Racks have been set up inside the container so bodies of people believed infected by the highly contagious virus can be examined and photographed, their noses swabbed for tests there, keeping them separate from the main morgue, Arunkumar said Friday as Cook County recorded its second COVID-19-related death. [I think this is a mistake. This is not an activity that is worth risking the health of the morgue staff to do. The chief should keep COVID-19 cases away, not examining them.]
- El Paso County Coroner's Office braces for coronavirus fatalities
- "Our concern is for folks who have died in their home," Russell said, explaining that autopsies will not be performed on those who die of the virus inside a hospital. Investigators from the coroner's office will perform tests at the scene to determine whether or not COVID-19 played a factor in their death. [Same problem as above. Coroners and medical examiners should make every effort to stay away from pandemic cases. Investigators at the scene are not properly protected. Safety first.]
- Revised abusive head trauma policy calls for continued vigilance, advocacy
- Media articles and legal cases continue to portray a purported controversy about the validity of the abusive head trauma (AHT) diagnosis. This “controversy” has translated into variable court outcomes. More concerning, data indicate that this misinformation is starting to impact child protection proceedings and future criminal prosecutions.
Pathology Links
- ACCPE means Affirming the Consequent for Complex Past Events. It is The Sherlock Effect.
- Whenever an expert states the past events that occurred on the basis of looking only at the physical evidence without reference to eyewitness statements, he or she is Affirming the Consequent for Complex Past Events. This is not only logically invalid and unsound, it never works in practice, Sherlock Holmes, CSI and Bones notwithstanding. Whenever ACCPE is listed in my comments to a news article, recognize one more tragic example of how this fallacy can destroy lives. ACCPE can also be understood as "backward reasoning,""effect-to-cause reasoning," or "abductive inference."
- American Academy of Forensic Sciences
- ForensicScienceDegree.org
- For further information on forensic science.
- National Association of Medical Examiners