Comparison of forensic reports on the same forensic cases issued by the emergency department and forensic medicine polyclinic

Year 2024, Volume: 41 Issue: 1, 112 - 118, 29.03.2024

Ufuk Akın , Hülya Yılmaz Başer

Abstract

In this study, forensic traumatology reports prepared in the emergency department were compared with reports of the same cases prepared by the forensic medicine polyclinic. The aim was to determine the extent of differences, discuss their causes and consequences, and provide solutions and recommendations. Retrospective analysis was conducted by comparing the demographic data, types of incidents, injury sites, and the forensic-medical evaluation results in the forensic reports prepared by emergency departments with those prepared by the forensic medicine policlinic for the same incidents. Of the 383 reports issued by the emergency department stating that the injuries were not of a nature that could be resolved with a simple medical intervention, reports of the same cases by the forensic medicine outpatient clinic revealed that 216 (56.4%) of these cases were, in fact, of a nature that could be resolved with a simple medical intervention. In 108 reports issued by the emergency department stating that injuries were life-threatening, 74 (68.5%) were assessed as non-life-threatening by the forensic medicine policlinic. It was observed that more errors were made in evaluations of intoxication and polytrauma cases conducted in the emergency department. It has been acknowledged that the majority of forensic reports prepared in emergency departments pose problems for the proper implementation of the legal process. To reduce or even eliminate errors and deficiencies in forensic reports, we believe that it is important to increase both the duration and quality of pre-graduate forensic medical education, as well as provide postgraduate training focused on responsibilities in forensic cases and medico-legal evaluation in trauma cases, particularly for emergency department physicians who bear a heavy burden of forensic report preparation.

Keywords

Emergency department, Forensic report, Forensic medicine, Forensic case

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