Can One Punch Kill? {Assault/Trauma}
A review of medications and medical history can play a critical role in any case with traumatic injuries.
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 on radiology studies, a medical expert is needed to review the records and determine the cause of the bruising. […]
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 and photographs. For this month’s newsletter, I’d like to point out some ways to avoid pitfalls in GBI cases by using […]
Burns: Complications
We have reviewed medical records from clients with burn injuries that have more than twenty diagnoses documented. This is because of the numerous complications associated with severe burns. The skin is the largest organ of the body. Damage to the skin from a burn affects multiple body systems and it is impossible to identify every […]
Burns: Long Term Treatment
The client with severe burns will be hospitalized for weeks or months. Burn wounds often require painful dressing changes, surgery and grafting. Preservation of function and prevention of complications are the priorities of care. A multidisciplinary team will care for the burn patient. The team may consist of nursing staff who provide twenty four hour […]
Burns: Initial Treatment
It is important to obtain and review medical records from the ambulance crew and emergency department in burn cases. The first responders will obtain information about the details of the fire, injuries and medical history. This information is needed for management of the injuries. Demographic data such as height, weight and age are important. The […]
Case Study: Burn Injuries
Mr. John Smith, age 40 sustained multiple injuries when he jumped from the second story of a burning house. He was treated at the scene by emergency medical services and transported to the emergency department of the local medical center where he was assessed and treated. It was estimated that burns covered 25% of his […]
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 by x-ray in the emergency department. Our expert testified that a diagnosis of nasal fracture made by x-ray has a high […]
Nasal Fractures: What does the literature say?
Legal Aspects in Nasal Fractures Rhinology, 1991 ABSTRACT A criminal act is involved in a high percentage of cases of nasal fracture, and exact medical information describing the damages found is mandatory for the criminal court. It is necessary, that the medical information are obtained from the ENT-department, where the patient is treated, as the […]
Does the patient in your case have a nasal fracture?
According to Dr. Greg Gilbert, from Stanford University Medical Center, x-rays of the nose serve no purpose in diagnosing nasal fractures: “A nasal fracture is a clinical diagnosis and not one that should be made with radiographs. They have a high false positive rate and cannot be relied upon with any degree of certainty as […]
