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Importance and Approach to Manner of Death Opinions in Opioid‐Related Deaths
Author(s) -
Abiragi Michael,
Bauler Laura D.,
Brown Theodore
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
journal of forensic sciences
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.715
H-Index - 96
eISSN - 1556-4029
pISSN - 0022-1198
DOI - 10.1111/1556-4029.14266
Subject(s) - accidental , checklist , medicine , medical examiner , opioid overdose , cause of death , medical emergency , injury prevention , drug overdose , suicide prevention , poison control , public health , manner of death , occupational safety and health , family medicine , opioid , psychology , disease , nursing , (+) naloxone , pathology , receptor , physics , acoustics , cognitive psychology
The majority of opioid‐related deaths are accidental. However, the number of opioid‐related suicidal deaths is likely under recognized. Presented here is a case of suicide by heroin overdose. The manner of death would have likely been deemed accidental if not for critical information shared by the decedent’s family during follow‐up telephone interviews between the forensic pathologist and the decedent’s family, which included text messages that were sent by the decedent just before his death that were not known at the time of the initial medicolegal death scene investigation. This case highlights that when a forensic pathologist establishes an engaged relationship with the decedent’s family, the information elucidated can prove to be invaluable in reaching an informed opinion about the manner of death. For overdose cases, identifying an accurate manner of death allows the design of public health efforts that adequately address the health risks in the community. For aid in the determination of the manner of death for overdose cases, we propose a five‐step checklist that may assist forensic pathologists and medicolegal death investigators when approaching similar cases.