We can help you on your Capital Case!
Do you have a capital case? Does the defendant have oodles of medical records? How are you digesting those right now? As a prosecutor, are you ready for the defense arguments against competency? As a defense attorney, are you able to articulate the medical issues that the defendant suffers from? Many of our clients ask […]
5 Things Criminal Attorneys Should Know About…Seizures
For the next few months I’ll post “5 things criminal attorneys should know about …” and highlight some areas of medicine that often cross into the criminal fields. I did this series a few years ago and I think it’s time to do a little refresher. This is not meant to be an in-depth review, […]
Can One Punch Kill? {Assault/Trauma}
A review of medications and medical history can play a critical role in any case with traumatic injuries.
Bruises and Bones – When is it child abuse?
Child abuse cases are emotionally driven for everyone involved. Expert review for both sides is imperative to ensure that the facts of the case are brought to light. The healthcare providers are emotionally connected to the patient and this may affect their ability to remain unbiased. A forensic expert can review of the discovery and […]
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 […]
Medical Records Review: Abbreviations
The last thing I want to cover is abbreviations. Reading a doctor’s handwriting alone is hard enough, and it is so much harder if it’s filled with unknown abbreviations. It is literally impossible to understand the medical records without knowing at least a few of the common abbreviations. For your benefit, I’ve created a list […]
Medical Records: Complications & Procedures
For more information on the hospital course, other documents to look for include: Operative reports: These are generated if the patient undergoes any surgeries, and a separate report will be generated for each operation. Look at the pre and post-procedure diagnosis. Radiological reports: Look at the “Impressions.” Again, there will be one report for each […]
Medical Records Review: Emergency Dept.
When performing a medical records review, if you’re looking for a list of injuries, as you commonly are in criminal law, you will look at the emergency department (ED or ER) reports and/or the ambulance reports. Ambulance/Fire: The vast majority of the time, I have to request that the ambulance and/or fire records be subpoenaed. […]
Medical Records: Where to Start
If you’re looking for the “story” of how the patient entered the hospital and what happened while he/she was there, go to the Discharge Summary (Caution: This is different than the Discharge Instructions, which are essentially worthless unless you practice med-mal). The Discharge Summary is a synopsis of the major events in the time that […]
Godoy Medical Forensics Gets Around
I have spoken at a number of conferences and seminars this year, as well as some online presentations. April: Medical Record Review for the NDIA conference in San Diego. June: Medical Record Review for Death Investigators at the POST certified course offered by Orange County Coroner’s Association Medical Record Review live webinar for the NAPD […]
