How Can a Forensic Nurse Help in Your DUI Case?
DUI Prevalence According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), in 2020, there were 11,654 deaths from drunk driving crashes, which equates to one person every 45 minutes and/or 32 people per day. This was a 14% increase from 2019. Between 2011 and 2020, on average, 10,500 people died every year due to drunk […]
Strangulation and Domestic Violence Awareness Month
Why Strangulation Occurs Since 1987, October has been declared Domestic Violence Awareness Month (DVAM) in order to raise awareness and connect individuals and organizations who work with this issue on a daily basis. This year, the theme is “We Are Resilient.” In the United States alone, an average of 20 people per minute are physically […]
The Many Implications of Asphyxiation
Death By Asphyxiation The Greek used the term asphyxia when referring to a stopping of the heart rate or pulse. When the body doesn’t get enough oxygen, its organs cannot function, either by inadequate delivery of the oxygen, or poor uptake or utilization of the oxygen by the body’s tissues and organs. This is sometimes […]
The Importance of Forensic Pathology Part 2
Getting It Right – The History of Forensic Pathology in America The earliest investigations into death involving methodical inquiries were mostly concerned with suicide. The coroner system dates back to medieval England. At that time a coroner was called a crowner because he served as a royal judicial representative. The term coroner evolved from there. […]
The Importance of Forensic Pathology Part 1
Getting It Right – The Importance of Forensic Pathology Recently, one of our Forensic Nurse Consultants at Godoy Medical Forensics was involved in a 2016 case in Mississippi regarding a mother who was arrested, prosecuted for the capital murder of her 8-day old daughter, and was detained without bail for nearly a year. The mother, […]
What is Sudden Infant Death Syndrome?
Potential Biomarker for Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) Sudden Infant Death Syndrome is defined as a sudden and unexplained cause of death in a seemingly healthy baby that is less than a year old. This type of death usually occurs during sleep and the cause has alluded researchers for decades. As of 2019, there were […]
Childhood Sexual Abuse and Its Effect on Criminal Behavior
How Adverse Childhood Experiences Relate to Criminal Behavior: Part 3 The definition of child sexual abuse has been controversial. Some scholars, practitioners, and organizations believe that peer-perpetrated abuse should be included in the definition and others believe that the definition should be limited to interactions between children and adults. Therefore, the research includes two separate […]
How Can Early Environments Influence Future Criminal Behavior?
Environmental Influences and Effects on Future Criminal Behavior A healthy family environment is critical to a child’s emotional and physical wellbeing. We all know that no one is perfect and therefore no family is perfect. However, a severely dysfunctional family can influence antisocial or criminal behavior. Known risk factors are poverty, education level, parenting […]
When Does Discipline Cross The Line Of Abuse?
Discipline or Child Abuse? Many experts are asked to answer this question when they are retained on child abuse cases. It is not as black and white as one might think. Corporal punishment is defined as “an act carried out with the intention of causing a child to experience physical pain, but not injury, for […]
What Are 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 […]
