Bruise Dating for Court Cases Can be Tricky
– Transcript of Video – Today we’re going to talk about bruising and the dating of bruises. I get calls on this on a regular basis regarding cases in which the victim has bruises. Whether…
Read more
Two Black Eyes But He Swears He Didn’t Hit Her {Assault/Trauma}
Two Black Eyes, also known as Raccoon’s eyes, is a sign of a skull fracture and does not necessarily indicate blunt force trauma to the face. Because this type of skull fracture is often missed…
What Constitutes GBI? {Assault/Trauma}
I am often called to testify in assault cases in which great bodily injury is an enhancement. In these cases I try to determine the severity of the injury based off of the medical records…
Do the Right Thing
Radiologists should follow guidelines developed by the American College of Radiology regarding such things as ambient light levels, monitor resolution and luminance, and certain components of the reports themselves such as differential diagnosis and suggestions for further imaging.…
Timing is Everything
Experienced radiologists have reviewed an enormous number of images which generates a vast internal database; radiologists have the best chance to assess the timing of pathology such as fractures, strokes, and bleeds by comparing the images to…
Quality Counts
Image quality can vary significantly which can affect diagnostic accuracy. The most advanced scanner-software combinations produce images that look like the newest high definition TV, but others might look like an old fuzzy TV set from the…
To Err is Human
Radiologists make mistakes just like everyone else; radiologists can misinterpret findings or miss them altogether, most commonly nasal bone fractures and soft tissue contusions seen on head CT for assault. Aside from inherent differences in opinion, the…
Don’t Believe Everything you Read
Radiologist’s reports are interpretations and opinions of imaging exams, not objective results like laboratory tests. The report is ideally performed in conjunction with clinical history, physical exam, and laboratory results, but even given perfect conditions radiologists may disagree…
Legal implications of nasal fractures
Our medical expert recently got retained in a criminal case where the victim suffered an injury to her nose. She had a reported history of previous nasal trauma but was diagnosed with a nasal fracture…
Avascular Necrosis
It has been shown that the risk for vascular complications is significantly higher if a dislocated hip is not able to be reduced within 6 hours after the initial injury. A more positive prognosis also…
What to ask if you have a brain bleed case
Legal implications – civil: Non-traumatic intracranial hemorrhage (stroke): For cases involving warfarin or Coumadin- was the patient’s lab work such as PT/INR adequately monitored? If the patient was suffering from Coumadin toxicity, what was the…
What are three main kinds of brain bleeding?
Types of hemorrhage Epidural hemorrhage is bleeding between the skull and outer covering of the brain, the dura matter. Epidural hemorrhages are frequently caused from a blunt trauma from an assault, fall or other accident. …
