Revista Espanola de Medicina Legal最新文献

The scope of forensic toxicology services has currently become technically and intellectually so demanding. As our society progresses, it becomes more complex and crime takes place in different ways. The development of highly sensitive detection techniques and appropriate data processing has enabled the analysis of a wide range of compounds, now in a wider range of matrices. Multiple associated technological innovations such as artificial intelligence or chemometric techniques, provide forensic toxicologists with different tools to facilitate the management of a multitude of generated data, or to devise a more effective analytical strategy.

The role of forensic toxicology in the forensic process is reliable and relevant for the resolution of criminal cases but it is still in development to minimize or overcome its deficiencies. In this context, it is necessary to work with a qualified system able to ensure the reliability of the results and that guarantees security to the judicial system and therefore to the citizen.

Background and objective

Neurosurgery has been internationally considered a "high risk" specialty for lawsuits. The aim of this observational study was to analyze the characteristics of medical liability rulings in Spain for damages caused by the practice of neurosurgery in Spanish public health care.

Materials and methods

Cross-sectional observational study analyzing the rulings handed down in the contentious-administrative jurisdiction by the High Courts of Justice in the period 2008-2020, in the specialty of neurosurgery. The variables were administrative, clinical, judicial, and compensatory.

Results

A total of 1,015 rulings were analyzed, of which 38 (3.74%) were related to neurosurgery. A total of 51.85 % of the judgments were dismissed at first instance and 88.88% at second instance. The most frequent reason in the rulings upholding the compensation requested by the patients was lack of information: 8 (53.33%). The most frequently claimed damage was sequelae: 31 (81.57%). The medical activity most related to the claims was spinal surgery: 23 (60.52%). The median award was 40,000 euros, with a range of 5,000-78,285 euros.

Conclusions

In the Spanish public health system, the specialty of neurosurgery is not among the most demanded. Most of the rullings (60%) reject the compensation requested and, therefore, are favorable to the health services. In the case of an upheld decision, lack of information is the most frequent reason for breach of the lex artis. These data contribute to improving the knowledge of professionals in the medical-legal aspects of health care and invite the formulation of further studies contrasting the Spanish data with those of other countries.

Disaster victim identification is crucial for humanitarian and legal reasons. Forensic genetics plays an important role in these situations which often become a challenge for the different professionals involved due to their complexity. The establishment of guidelines and recommendations makes it easier to follow standardized protocols that make it possible to guarantee the reliability of the identification final result. Likewise, advances in forensic genetics contribute to speeding up the response, providing new analysis strategies and bioinformatic tools. This article aims to provide an overview of how forensic genetics and its advances can contribute in these situations, as well as some keys to understanding the work of forensic genetics laboratories in the identification of corpses in events with multiple victims.

The approval in 2009, of the Protocolo Nacional de actuación Médico-Forense y de Policía Científica en sucesos con víctimas múltiples, was the basic normative to formally regulate both the technical procedures that must be applied, and the different tasks to be carried out in a disaster victim incident in Spain. This article reviews the procedures and techniques used in forensic odontology for human identification in DVI incidents with multiple victims. Given that the recognition of the individualizing characteristics of the teeth, and in general the odontological data, supposes a highly specialized process, it is essential the assistance of forensic dentists with experience in this field, who will have the training and the knowledge to carry out the dental procedures such as documenting dental records, accurate interpretation of the results and withdraw precise dental identification conclusions. Finally, recommendations for the preparation of forensic dental identification reports are included in this review.

Major emergencies or disasters pose great challenges to society and especially to all emergency services. In the last decades, the Mental Health perspective has been incorporated as an important part of comprehensive health care for those affected. Thus, the conceptual change from “multiple casualty incident” (MCI) to “multiple affected incident” (MAI) focuses on the care and well-being of all people affected by an incident, not only those who have suffered physical injuries. The objective of this article is focused on finding out the possibilities of intervention with patients labeled in triage as psychological green (without affectation and/or physical injuries), based on advanced psychological intervention in emergencies (IPA). The IPA, beyond removing those affected from danger, seeks to increase their sense of control and efficacy, both to face the situation and to increase their sense of competence in the experience of subsequent trauma with respect to that experience. In this sense, recent assessment possibilities, as well as psychological first aid approaches, allow new intervention applications in emergencies such as those made possible by remote air support (drones). Its application and possibilities as future options are discussed.

Corpses identification in events with multiple victims is a challenge and one of the main activities of Forensic Pathology. Legal, humanitarian and social repercussions are derived from the correct identification and also its management, generating a great impact.

The objective of this paper is to present the management and identification process of the 13 deaths that occurred in the bus accident on the AP7 motorway in March 2016 in Freginals (Tarragona, Spain). The rapid identification of fatalities, the different quality control mechanisms used, attention to family members, as well as the proper management of the catastrophe with the human and material resources available are analysed.

Despite the foreign nationality of all the victims, which determined the method of identification, all of them were quickly identified by dentistry, fingerprinting or DNA and were quickly returned to their families and countries of origin. Italy was the country where the largest number of victims came from. The participation of forensic doctors in ante mortem data recovery is highlighted.