Friday, February 4, 2022

Pandemic and shortage of pathologists causes delays in autopsy reports and in turn homicide trials

Mississippi, like most U.S. states, is experiencing a forensic pathologist shortage, reported the ABA Journal.

Although autopsies are performed in a timely manner out of necessity, reports are taking months—and in some instances years—to finalize. For example, Carolyn Green, the coroner for Mississippi’s Lee County, said in October that one natural death from 2016 still doesn’t have a finalized autopsy report.

The pandemic—which also precipitated a backlog in cases—has only exacerbated the shortage. In the last two years, forensic pathologists across the country also have been burdened by COVID-19 deaths, a spike in homicides and an increase in accidental drug overdoses.

With the time between the autopsy and the finalized report stretching months or even years, both prosecutors and defense attorneys are waiting longer than usual to bring criminal cases to trial, raising due process concerns.

The forensic pathologist shortage has been decades in the making, building since the practice became board-certified in 1959.

Few medical school graduates choose pathology residencies, and even fewer opt to work in forensic pathology, where the pay is lower than in other practice areas.

There are currently 500 board-certified forensic pathologists working full time. These pathologists are tasked with determining the cause of death for anyone who does not die in a hospital or in hospital cases involving homicide, according to Dr. James Gill, chief medical examiner for the state of Connecticut. Gill is also chair of the National Association of Medical Examiners’ board of directors and the group’s immediate-past president.

In a normal year, Gill says, the U.S. has needed more than double the number of forensic pathologists to keep up with the number of cases sent to their offices. Increasing cases in the past two years have only made the problem worse.

“There have been reports of national increases in homicides, motor vehicle deaths and drug intoxication deaths,” Gill says. “For example, the latest numbers from the CDC show a 30% increase in drug intoxication deaths in 2020: There were 93,000 of these deaths. Each of these needed an autopsy.”

In Chicago, the county medical examiner’s office saw almost triple the cases in 2020. The office typically sees about 6,000 to 6,500 cases a year; in 2020, it saw 16,049. According to spokeswoman Natalia Derevyanny, half of those deaths were COVID-19-related. Opioid deaths increased by 40% from the previous year, and homicides increased by 50%.

“Homicides are the most labor-intensive autopsies that we do,” Gill says. “It can take more than a day to do an autopsy on someone who was shot 15 times. All those wounds need to be photographed; all those bullets need to be dissected.”

Forensic pathologists prioritize conducting autopsies so the remains can be transferred to funeral directors. Reports are completed when the pathologists have time, and they are further delayed when forensic pathologists are called to testify in court.

“When you are overwhelmed with autopsies, those can’t wait. You can’t say, ‘I’ll wait until next week.’ Those have to take a priority,” Gill says.

To read more CLICK HERE

1 comment:

Pratiksha said...


Are You Mobile Repairing Course Use These Tips

Private schooling is becoming increasingly expensive, and many people are turning towards home schooling. At the same time, taking children out of conventional schools is a big deal and should be done with great care and research. Before you decide how your child should be educated, make sure that you read these essential Mobile Repairing Course tips and ideas.

Before you begin Mobile Repairing Course your kids, look at your state's law. Many states regulate how many hours of classroom work a child must have. The state is probably going to offer you curriculum materials, but you are going to need to make changes to help them work for your children. You should probably center your school year around what the local school district does.

How well do you understand your child's learning style? Sometimes it's easy to forget that all children do not learn the same way. What may have worked for you might not be the finest approach for your home schooled child. Research different learning styles and apply them to the chosen curriculum for the best results.

You don't have to homeschool for your child's entire education. You can do it for one year to correct shortcomings and behavioral issues. You could do it until middle school or high school. If you wish, they can be homeschooled right until college. The best part is that it's totally up to you!

When choosing your Mobile Repairing Course program, consider the ultimate goal of the education you are providing your child. If you plan to reintegrate them into a regular school, then your curriculum should shadow the curriculum of that school. On the other hand, if you plan to home school them through high school then you want to be sure that they are learning everything they need to get their GED or even to perform well on important pre-college exams like the SATs or ACTs.

With so many options to think about, it may be hard to select the perfect method to teach your child. You may have found that public or private schools aren't quite what you are looking for when considering your child's education. Take what you've learned here to heart, and form your game plan. The most important thing is to keep learning about Mobile Repairing Course.

Post a Comment