Vera Sterzik

Padova Charter on personal injury and damage under civil-tort law Medico-legal guidelines on methods of ascertainment and criteria of evaluation

Compensation for personal damage, defined as any pecuniary or non-pecuniary loss causally related to a personal injury under civil-tort law, is strictly based on the local jurisdiction and therefore varies significantly across the world. This manuscript presents the first “International Guidelines on Medico-Legal Methods of Ascertainment and Criteria of Evaluation of Personal Injury and Damage under Civil-Tort Law”. This consensus document, which includes a step-by-step illustrated explanation of flow charts articulated in eight sequential steps and a comprehensive description of the ascertainment methodology and the criteria of evaluation, has been developed by an International Working Group composed of juridical and medico-legal experts and adopted as Guidelines by the International Academy of Legal Medicine (IALM).

Whiplash-Associated Disorders: Clinical and medico-legal guidelines on the methods of ascertainment

The manuscript presents the International Guidelines developed by the Working Group on Personal Injury and Damage under the patronage of the International Academy of Legal Medicine (IALM) regarding the Methods of Ascertainment of any suspected Whiplash-Associated Disorders (WAD).The document includes a detailed description of the logical and methodological steps of the ascertainment process as well as a synoptic diagram in the form of Flow Chart.

Searching for biological traces on different materials using a forensic light source and infrared photography.

Because biological traces often play an important role in the investigation process of criminal acts, their detection is essential. As they are not always visible to the human eye, tools like a forensic light source or infrared photography can be used. The intention of the study presented was to give advice how to visualize biological traces best. Which wavelengths and/or filters give the best results for different traces on different fabrics of different colors? Therefore, blood (undiluted and diluted), semen, urine, saliva, and perspiration have been examined on 29 different materials.

Postmortem 1 H-MRS—Detection of Ketone Bodies and Glucose in Diabetic Ketoacidosis

Diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA) is a metabolic complication of diabetes mellitus that takes a lethal course if untreated. In this way relevant to forensic medicine, secure diagnosis of DKA usually involves the evidence of elevated levels of glucose and the ketone bodies acetone, acetoacetate, and β-hydroxybutyrate in corpse fluids. We conducted a postmortem hydrogen proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy (1H-MRS) in a case of lethal DKA. Distinctive resonances of all three ketone bodies as well as glucose were visible in spectra of cerebrospinal fluid, vitreous humor, and white matter. Estimated concentrations of ketone bodies and glucose supported the findings both of autopsy and biochemical analysis. Advantages of human postmortem 1H-MRS are the lack of movement and flow artifacts as well as lesser limitations of scan duration. Postmortem 1H-MRS is able to non-invasively measure concentrations of glucose and ketone bodies in small volumes of various regions of the brain. It may thus become a diagnostic tool for forensic investigations by quick determination of pathological metabolite concentrations in addition to conventional autopsy.

Fatal visit to the dentist.

A 23-year-old woman was mortally afraid of dental interventions and decided to have her four wisdom teeth removed by outpatient surgery under endotracheal anaesthesia. According to the files, the patient was categorized as ASA I and Mallampati II, and surgery was considered an elective routine intervention. Soon after initiation of anaesthesia, O2 saturation and blood pressure dropped, and the young woman died shortly afterwards in spite of immediate resuscitation measures. At first, an allergic reaction to succinylcholine, which had been administered as a muscle relaxant, was suspected. Autopsy and histological examination showed haemorrhagic pulmonary oedema and a defined lesion in the midportion of the oesophageal mucosa in spite of correct placement of the endotracheal breathing tube. Ultimately, misintubation into the oesophagus, which had not been noticed at first, was determined as cause of death.

Spectrometric evaluation of post-mortem optical skin changes

As to their optical properties, the components of human skin can be divided into two different categories: the light-scattering components shown as peaks and those absorbing light appearing as dips in the reflectance spectrum. As the post-mortem interval progresses, the concentration of scatterers and absorbers and thus the reflectance spectra change due to post-mortem tissue breakdown and degradation. Based on a total number of 532 reflectance spectrometric measurements in 195 deceased, a characteristic change in the reflectance spectra could be documented in the post-mortem course. Subsequently, an algorithm to calculate the post-mortem interval was developed by analysing the reflectance spectrometric extrema.

Visualizing old biological traces on different materials without using chemicals

During the investigative process that typically follows a criminal act, it may prove necessary to work with and analyze evidence that is not recent but old. This could become necessary, for example, when a crime is discovered some time after it was committed or when a cold case is reopened. Due to this need, the present study focused on the detection and visualization of 2-year-old biological traces. To do so, an alternative light source and different filters were used. The optical behavior of 2-year-old samples of blood, semen, urine, saliva, and sweat located on 19 different materials was documented, analyzed, and compared with the optical behavior of the same samples when they were recent [1].

International Guidelines on the Methods of Ascertainment of Whiplash-Associated Disorders

This chapter presents the International Guidelines developed by the Working Group on Personal Injury and Damage under the patronage of the International Academy of Legal Medicine (IALM) regarding the Methods of Ascertainment of any suspected Whiplash-Associated Disorders (WAD).

Methods of Ascertainment of Personal Damage in Germany

The chapter illustrates the historical, judicial and juridical framework of personal injury assessment and compensation in Germany, describing the expert’s qualification and competences and detailing the ascertainment methodology and criteria of evaluation utilised for identifying, describing and estimating any personal injury, its temporary and permanent consequences and the causal value/link between the event and the injury and between the injury and the impairment/disability.

International Guidelines on the Methods of Ascertainment of Personal Injury and Damage Under Civil-Tort Law

Compensation for personal damage, defined as any pecuniary or non-pecuniary loss causally related to a personal injury under civil-tort law, is strictly based on the local jurisdiction and therefore varies significantly across the world. This manuscript presents the first “International Guidelines on Medico-Legal Methods of Ascertainment and Criteria of Evaluation of Personal Injury and Damage under Civil-Tort Law”. This consensus document, which includes a step-by-step illustrated explanation of flow charts articulated in eight sequential steps and a comprehensive description of the ascertainment methodology and the criteria of evaluation, has been developed by an International Working Group composed of juridical and medicolegal experts and adopted as Guidelines by the International Academy of Legal Medicine (IALM). This chapter represents a slightly modified version of an article published in the International Journal of Legal Medicine.