Forensic expert

A forensic expert is a specialist with a medical education who helps investigate crimes within the scope of his or her competence.

The history of forensic medicine goes back to tsarist Russia. Under Peter the Great, "knowledgeable persons" were called in to examine the scene of a crime. The liability of "knowledgeable persons" for failure to appear without a valid reason was limited by a fine under the law of 1864. At that time, police doctors did not have morgues or laboratories at their disposal, but corresponding departments had already begun to appear in universities.

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Who is a forensic expert?

Forensic medical examination is the practice of forensic medicine. Forensic medical examination is closely related to other branches of medicine: hygiene, bacteriology, biochemistry.

Sometimes criminologists cannot do without knowledge of the law. And then specialists from other branches of science and craft come to their aid. A forensic expert determines the murder weapon and the cause of death. First, he conducts an external examination of the corpse. During this stage, the number and nature of injuries, their form are established.

The main part of the report contains the results of the sectional and additional studies. In conclusion, the forensic expert issues a death certificate indicating the cause of death.

When should you contact a forensic pathologist?

A forensic expert may be needed after a rape to assess the degree of disability after bodily harm. Not only biological fluids are sent for examination, but also clothing with stains of saliva, urine, rust, and earth. Inspection of clothing is especially valuable in the case of gunshots, as flames and soot remain on clothing, traces of which may not be present on the wound itself. Clothing is the most valuable evidence. After an accident, lubricants and sand, and tire marks remain on clothing.

The forensic expert determines whether such damage could have been caused by the alleged weapon (instrument), and what mechanism the damage was. The relative positions of the victim and the attacker are also determined. The forensic examination determines the diseases that he already had before the violent actions, the age of the damage, and determines the species of hair, blood, and sperm found at the crime scene.

The forensic expert determines what caused the death of the victim, the mental state of the accused when committing the illegal act, the mental state of the victim, and whether he can testify.

Forensic medical examination may only be conducted by doctors. The defendant in the case, the victim, the relative of the victim, the investigator, the accused, the inquiry officer or the defense attorney may not act as an expert. In this case, he must recuse himself or be forcibly removed from the case.

If an expert is appointed during a trial, he can either confirm the conclusion that was given before the trial, during the investigation, by himself or by another expert, or refute it, make his own corrections.

Let's talk a little about the medical ethics of an expert. The work of a forensic expert involves constant interaction with law enforcement officers. Every day he communicates with victims, relatives of victims in the most tragic moments, deals with injuries that not every doctor of any specialty sees every day, with murders, suicides and rapes. And in all this situation, the forensic expert is obliged to remain cool and rational. During the court hearing, the forensic expert can change his conclusion based on newly discovered materials, facts, new circumstances, testimony and evidence. The expert responds to criticism politely and convincingly, i.e., high moral qualities are very important for this profession.

An expert may be present during the following investigative activities: inspection of the scene of the incident, examination, seizure and inspection of objects.

A specialist participating in a case has the right to retain his salary at his place of work or to receive a reward.

The expert carefully studies medical documentation, complaints, interrogation reports and crime scene inspections, confrontations, and LCC meetings.

If the examination is carried out by an expert commission, then after analyzing all documentary and other materials, a meeting is held at which each expert introduces the other members of the commission to their findings. The expert may take the initiative and note their comments on the case. Answers to questions from the investigation or the court must be specific and have an unambiguous interpretation; the answers must not contain terms that are not understandable to a person without a medical education. If they cannot be avoided, they must be explained.

What tests should be taken when visiting a forensic expert?

A forensic medical expert is guided in his work by the results of instrumental and laboratory studies: radiography, echography, microscopy, bacteriological studies, radiometric, angiographic studies, tomography, examination of skin, sperm and hair.

Since the beginning of the 21st century, magnetic resonance imaging and computed tomography have been used everywhere to solve various medical diagnostic problems. Let's consider how CT helps to clarify the etiology of facial injuries during forensic medical examination, since the face suffers most often from injuries, especially those inflicted intentionally on domestic grounds.

Damage to the craniofacial bones is a direct threat to health and life, since all openings in the skull communicate directly with the brain. The problem of craniofacial trauma has gone beyond the medical and has become socio-economic. Patients with TBI have to undergo prolonged treatment, which affects the economy due to the fact that these are people of the most productive age, most often 25-40 years old and male.

The facial bones are very complex, so their injuries can be very diverse. Another reason for diagnostic difficulties is the variety of forms of the tools used to inflict injuries.

A group of scientists examined 25 people with craniofacial injuries in the Department of Radiology of the Regional Clinical Hospital in Kharkov. When examining the nasal cavity, the method fully justified itself: in 5-10 minutes, it was possible to fully visualize bone fragments, damage to the nasal septum and soft tissues, detect changes in fine bone structures that are invisible on a regular X-ray. Hematomas and small foreign objects are also perfectly detected with CT. The problem is often that X-rays do not show cheekbone fractures. In this case, CT has a special diagnostic value. Among these 25 people, cases of combined injury were noted, for example, a depressed fracture of the upper jaw and a fracture of the nasal bones with a cartilage rupture.

CT is 40 times more sensitive than X-ray. At least 10 slices are taken. CT is an expensive but highly informative examination for craniofacial injuries.

The research methods at the disposal of a forensic expert are: histological, radiological, photographic, and trace evidence.

Methods typical for many sciences are widely used: as we know, science cannot exist without observation, calculation and modeling. And medical science uses methods that are unique to it: morphological, clinical and physical-optical. Mathematical and statistical methods are used.

How to check the reliability of the conclusion you receive? Each thesis must be substantiated, the arguments must not contradict each other - in a word, the expert opinion must be compiled in compliance with the rules of formal logic.

What does a forensic scientist do?

Forensic medical examination is a study of questions concerning medicine that arise for an investigator or a court.

Recently, the number of craniofacial injuries has increased. They often cause complications and permanent disability. Among injuries caused by sharp objects, cut wounds inflicted with a knife and beatings predominate. A fracture of the fixed upper jaw is usually combined with fractures of the zygomatic bone. Such injuries have especially severe consequences if there have been previous facial injuries or craniocerebral injuries. A description of the wound shape and the condition of the edges is usually missing from the card due to the doctor's heavy workload and constant rush. We have come to another important function of the forensic expert - he explains to district and hospital doctors the procedure for completing medical documentation. There is nothing strange about this. When a doctor encounters obvious intentional injuries, he will most likely cooperate with law enforcement agencies. In order to make their work easier, it is necessary to fill out the card correctly.

To avoid such mistakes, the expert always conducts an independent examination of the victim in the hospital, and does not trust the testimony of the attending physician. After the operation and during healing, the appearance of the injury may differ greatly from the original. Doctors often keep very illegible records. And sometimes they use Latin terms.

Methodological recommendations are being developed for doctors at trauma centers, but there is still no uniform tactic for additional research, especially in cases of facial injuries.

What diseases does a forensic expert treat?

A forensic expert establishes the nature of injuries in stillbirth, medical negligence, poisoning. A forensic expert establishes the fact of self-harm, simulation of tuberculosis, epilepsy, heart attack, mental illness. Often, defendants inflict injuries on themselves, cause burns with tobacco, hot iron, so that the trial drags on. Sometimes they cause dermatitis similar to scabies, eye diseases, ear inflammation.

Advice from a forensic expert

Forensic medical examination of cases of professional crimes committed by medical personnel has a number of specific features. It is appointed after an official investigation. It is conducted by doctors from another hospital. The employees of another medical institution must first draw up a report indicating the defects in diagnostics or treatment that have resulted in consequences for the patient's health. Crimes related to medical negligence are classified as follows:

1. Intentional professional crimes.
2. Actions due to negligence.
3. Medical errors in diagnosis, treatment and violations of medical ethics.

Forensic medical examination in cases of unprofessional actions of doctors answers a number of questions: what diseases did the patient have, was the diagnosis correct, was it possible to make the correct diagnosis, what was done for this and if not, then why, was the treatment carried out correctly, did it lead to the development of side effects, did the patient have contraindications to taking this medication, etc.

Every citizen should know what to do to protect themselves from medical negligence. How do you know if a medical error has been made against you or your loved ones?

1. The man felt worse after receiving assistance.
2. There are no signs of improvement for a long time after medical care.
3. Disability or death occurred after receiving medical care.

We advise you to always save receipts received from the pharmacy and all documentation, medical history, extracts, medical card. This can help you defend your rights in case of medical error. Remember - there is no statute of limitations for medical error cases. A medical error case can last a long time - about 2 years.

Also, in the practice of a forensic expert, injuries caused by careless handling of hunting weapons are often encountered. The sport of hunting has been developing rapidly over the past few decades, but, unfortunately, not all amateur hunters handle hunting weapons carefully. To investigate such cases, special knowledge of physics is required. In this case, the expert's task is to establish the serviceability of the weapon, whether it is suitable for shooting, and what force must be applied to make a shot. The cause of the shot is also established; sometimes weapons experts are invited separately.

On a domestic basis, beatings often occur - repeated infliction of minor bodily injuries. The task of the expert is to identify these injuries, note their number and the object with which they were inflicted. Also in practice there are cases of torture - longer in duration than beatings, causing pain by pinching, causing burns, etc. Torture - prolonged deprivation of food, drink, warmth.

Victims who have suffered serious bodily harm are sent to a hospital for treatment. In this case, the expert comes to the hospital, shows his ID and the investigator's or court's order to conduct an examination. He talks to the victim's attending physician, gives the forensic expert a medical record, an extract with the test results. If the victim is conscious, a conversation with the victim is held in the ward. The expert records all the victim's complaints in the report.

The degree of harm to health is determined by an expert not only during examination of living persons, but also in the case of a fatal outcome. Harm to health is assessed as serious if the following injuries were established:

1. Heart damage.
2. Liver damage.
3. Massive bleeding with damage to large vessels, such as the aorta.
4. Air embolism, fat embolism, thromboembolism.
5. Shock, coma, collapse, liver and kidney failure, gangrene.

If you need to establish the loss of general and professional ability to work in order to maintain your earnings or raise the issue of disability, contact not a forensic expert, but a medical and social expert commission.

Damages received before the incident are not taken into account by the forensic expert. In the presence of multiple injuries, the damage is summed up. In order for the expert to assess the degree of loss of general and professional working capacity, provide him with a report on an accident at work or a report on an accident at home. You must present the original documents for examination. In the case of an industrial injury, the company must fully reimburse you for material costs for medicines, enhanced dietary nutrition, spa treatment, including transportation costs. The amount of damage is calculated from the day you received the injury. So, delaying the examination for several months or a year should not bother you. Such cases are not processed quickly, but if you properly prepare for each meeting, the damage will be paid in full.

Experts encounter cases of malingering, when a healthy person pretends to be sick, stages an attack or rape. Often this is done to mitigate punishment or out of revenge, or to collect insurance in case of an accident. Often, in order to exclude the neurotic nature of the simulation, commissions are called in with the participation of a psychologist and a psychiatrist.

The malingerer usually prepares for the performance, but you should know that modern diagnostic methods cannot be fooled. The examination of the simulation is carried out by experienced and patient experts. An attentive expert will question the patient in detail (or only the pretender, but the essence of the examination comes down to evidence, not guesses) about his complaints, the onset and course of the disease and conduct an examination. The expert must treat the person being tested with respect, not express his attitude to the fact of simulation even after it has been established.

Dissimulation is the concealment of an illness. For example, a rapist hides traces of the victim's resistance on the body.

Aggravation is the worsening of an existing disease.

Artificially induced diseases are also not uncommon in the practice of a forensic expert. For example, these may be dermatitis or phlegmon, dislocations, respiratory diseases, such as bronchitis caused by inhalation of harmful substances, colitis, fistulas, hemorrhoids. As well as diseases of the throat, ear, nose, vision, gynecological and urological diseases and exhaustion due to starvation, for example, in prison. Based on many years of experience, it can be proven that the disease was artificially induced, but at the same time, as with simulation, the expert does not show his suspicions.

To avoid military service, resourceful young men sometimes engage in self-harm. The fact of self-harm can be proven during an investigative experiment.

Thanatology is the science of dying and death. It studies the dynamics of dying, agony, and causes of death. Unfortunately, 25% of the experts' work is working with corpses, which is really difficult and unpleasant, requiring endurance and stress resistance. The task of a forensic expert during a corpse examination:

1. To determine whether the death was violent or non-violent.
2. What was the cause of death?
3. What diagnosis led to death?

Sometimes death occurs not from injuries, but later. This must also be established by a forensic expert. If these were violent actions on the part of another person, responsibility for death from complications, and not from injuries, also lies with that person. The degree of responsibility is determined by the court. If a person dies in a hospital from injuries, responsibility also falls on the person who inflicted the injuries. In the case of a penetrating wound, death can occur from blood loss, shock, infection, or organ damage. Sometimes several factors cause death.

Every day, forensic experts face tragedies, courageously look death in the eye, administer justice, and protect peaceful citizens like you and me from danger. Thank them for that. Not all offenders are thugs, not particularly, let's say, intellectually gifted. Sometimes it can be very difficult to unravel the tangle of contradictions in a criminal offense. Smart and educated people can become criminals for various reasons. If you have a desire to become a forensic expert, think about whether you can bear such responsibility. You are required to have an impeccable reputation and professionalism. In general, of course, these are qualities that are necessary for any medical worker. Courage, willpower, intuition, "expert nose" - these are the mandatory qualities of a forensic expert.

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