Prisoner or Patient?
Are Correctional Facilities Adequately Caring for the Health of Their Inmates? According to the American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP), incarcerated individuals are “disproportionately affected by chronic health conditions, mental illness, and substance abuse. However, they tend to receive inadequate healthcare before, during, and after incarceration or detention, further exacerbating their disadvantage.” As of 2016, […]
Medically Conscious but Legally Unconscious?
Conscious or Unconscious? Can someone be medically conscious but considered legally unconscious? What an interesting conundrum! According to the Oxford Dictionary, “unconsciousness is the state of being unconscious or the state of being uninformed or unaware” and “automatism is the performance of actions without conscious thought or intention, involuntary” (Oxford English Dictionary, 2021). Even in […]
The Long-Term Effects of Repetitive Head Trauma
Traumatic Brain Injury in Criminal Cases After Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI), people can experience personality changes, social anxiety, irritability, anger, depression, general anxiety, mood swings, emotional lability, and feelings of being overwhelmed. The bottom line is that the brain no longer functions exactly the way it did prior to the head injury. The location of […]
Traumatic Brain Injury or Mental Illness?
TBI and Mental Illness What if a defendant commits a crime because of being affected by either an acute brain injury or an acquired or inherited brain disease? This is called the “brain defense.” In criminal cases, defense attorneys are increasingly using clinical evidence of brain injury to either establish their client’s innocence or mitigate […]
Did COVID-19 Bring a Higher Risk of Abuse?
Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic people have been told to stay at home for their own safety and the safety of others. Could there be a higher risk of abuse? What about those people who are victims of domestic violence? How are they faring at home? Is home a safe place for victims […]
Fracture from Child Abuse or Bone Disease?
Unexplained Fracture from Child Abuse or Bone Disease? Child abuse and neglect (CAN) is a profoundly serious problem that has implications and consequences affecting the child and his family for the rest of their lives, both mentally and physically, and potentially financially. The welfare of the child is a top priority in these cases so […]
Anxiety: When Benzo’s Attack
Did you Know? Anxiety disorders develop from risk factors such as genetics, brain chemistry life events and personality. Anxiety disorders are the most common mental illness in the United States. Approximately 40 million adults age 18 and older, are affected each year. This equates to about 18.1% of the United States population. Anxiety disorders are […]
Visualization of Old Bruises in Children
Ultraviolet Radiation and Forensics In forensics, ultraviolet radiation is used to enhance injuries of the skin. It has been reported that ultraviolet radiation can help visualize an old bruise and can also estimate the shape of the object that caused the bruise. For example, where bruising was faint, old and difficult to recognize, ultraviolet radiation […]
What role does Hypoxia play in Criminal Cases? {Assault/Trauma}
For both prosecutors and defense attorneys, it’s often important to know the defendant’s state of mind to litigate the case. If a defendant has a medical condition or traumatic injury that could result in hypoxia it warrants further review by a medical expert to determine if the hypoxia was severe enough to change their mental […]
Delirium: What role does it play in criminal cases? {DUI/Gen Med}
In many of our cases we come across symptoms of delirium and are asked to determine if they are due to the assumed etiology, like alcohol or drug intoxication; or from something else, like seizures, or traumatic brain injury. So, this month I’d like to do an overview of delirium and its potential causes, and […]
