Forensic medical expertise on burned bone remains

The series of 1138 cadaveric humerus and femurs of people of both sexes who died at the age of 17-91 years and 468 animal bones (cow, pig, sheep) was studied. Bones were burned (experimentally) at various temperature values and in different conditions. Investigations were carried out using osteometric, microscopic, microroentgenographic and mathematical methods. Species identification as well as sex and age determination using burned bone remains are possible regardless of the level of their burning. Regression equations to calculate victim's stature according to fragments of burned bones were received.     

Forensic medical examination of a medical malpractice case as a form of situational expertise

The authors propose to divide the process of forensic medical examination of a medical malpractice case into several stages and substantiate the possibility of their realization as a form of situational forensic medical expertise.     

Forensic and medical expertise of sexual transmission of venereal diseases and HIV infection

Although, there is a steady growth in the total number of sexually transmitted infections (STI), the forensic medical method is a rare expertise type as applicable to venereal and HIV infections. Since sexually abused persons are an STI risk category, they must be diagnosed as soon as possible. A micro-trauma of sexual violence, if detected, is an important finding because it is an open entry gate for STI. The specialist in skin and venereal diseases must examine all victims and all suspected of raping or of sexual violence to rule out the possibility of venereal disease infection.     

Forensic investigation of OOXML format documents

MS Office documents could be illegally copied by offenders, and forensic investigators still face great difficulty in investigating and tracking the source of these illegal copies. This paper mainly proposes a forensic method based on the unique value of the revision identifier (RI) to determine the source of suspicious electronic documents. This method applies to electronic documents which use Office Open XML (OOXML) format, such as MS Office 2007, Mac Office 2008 and MS Office 2010. According to the uniqueness of the RI extracted from documents, forensic investigators can determine whether the suspicious document and another document are from the same source. Experiments demonstrate that, for a copy of an electronic document, even if all the original characters are deleted or formatted by attackers, forensic examiners can determine that the copy and the original document are from the same source through detecting the RI values. Additionally, the same holds true if attackers just copy some characters from the original document to a newly created document. As long as there is one character left whose original format has not been cleared, forensic examiners can determine that the two documents are from the same source using the same method. This paper also presents methods for OOXML format files to detect the time information and creator information, which can be used to determine who the real copyright holder is when a copyright dispute occurs.     

Forensic psychophysiological expertise with application of polygraph

The notions of psychophysiological investigation (PPI) and psychophysiological examination with application of polygraph are characterized. The history of the method for more than 100 years, the aims of the examination are described. Effective use of the polygraph in criminal investigations is illustrated. The absence of methodological regulations and difficulties in training specialists hinder wide introduction of polygraphs into practice. How to get over these difficulties is shown.     

Forensic handwriting examiners' expertise for signature comparison

This paper reports on the performance of forensic document examiners (FDEs) in a signature comparison task that was designed to address the issue of expertise. The opinions of FDEs regarding 150 genuine and simulated questioned signatures were compared with a control group of non-examiners' opinions. On the question of expertise, results showed that FDEs were statistically better than the control group at accurately determining the genuineness or non-genuineness of questioned signatures. The FDE group made errors (by calling a genuine signature simulated or by calling a simulated signature genuine) in 3.4% of their opinions while 19.3% of the control group's opinions were erroneous. The FDE group gave significantly more inconclusive opinions than the control group. Analysis of FDEs' responses showed that more correct opinions were expressed regarding simulated signatures and more inconclusive opinions were made on genuine signatures. Further, when the complexity of a signature was taken into account, FDEs made more correct opinions on high complexity signatures than on signatures of lower complexity. There was a wide range of skill amongst FDEs and no significant relationship was found between the number of years FDEs had been practicing and their correct, inconclusive and error rates.     

Forensic medical expertise of injuries in the anorectal region and rectum related to the sexual assault

Injuries to the anorectal region and rectum associated with sexual crimes require forensic medical assessment even though this issue remains to be poorly developed. The results of 84 forensic medical expertises are presented based on the materials obtained by examining both women and men who applied with complains of sexual abuse (anogenital penetration) to the Primorskoye territorial Bureau of forensic medical expertise during 5 years, from 2005 to 2009. The study has demonstrated correlation between dynamics of applications of the victims of either sex and the lack of a tendency toward a decrease in their frequency. The signs characteristic of acute injuries and chronic conditions are described. The causes of diagnostic errors during forensic medical expertise of sexual abuse are discussed.     

Forensic medical expertise of injuries in the anorectal region and rectum unrelated to attempts at sexual abuse

The results of analysis of 46 commission forensic medical expertises are presented based on the materials concerning injuries and changes in the anorectal region and rectum unrelated to attempts at sexual abuse. The materials were collected and stored by the Primorskoye territorial Bureau of forensic medical expertise during 5 years, from 2005 to 2009. All injuries and changes were categorized into several groups in terms of their origin, viz. car accidents, inadequate medical care, insertion of foreign bodies, falls on sharp and protruding objects, gunshot wounds, chemical and thermal burns, sports training, etc. The occurrence of the injuries is illustrated by the examples from forensic medical practice. It is concluded that experts describing injuries and changes in the anorectal region and rectum must act in conformity with the order of the Russian Ministry of Health No 346 dated October 21, 2010) and use instrumental methods and terminology accepted in modern proctology. The severity of harm to health in subjects presenting with injuries and changes in the anorectal region and rectum should be evaluated in terms of both the degree of the threat to life and the outcome of the treatment with special reference to the duration of health impairment, severity of the trauma, and its consequences (anorectal dysfunction).     

Forensic medical expertise of delayed consequences of traffic accidents included in article 6.11 of the Medical Criteria

The medical documentation pertaining to 767 victims of traffic accidents was revised. These subjects were classified in the acute post-traumatic period as experiencing serious harm to health in terms of the qualifying sign "substantial persistent loss of at least of one third of general working ability" (SPLGWA) based on the results of primary examination. It was shown that in the course of therapeutic and rehabilitative treatment of the subjects with bone fractures listed in articles 6.11.1, 6.11.2, 6.11.4 to 6.11.10 of the Medical Criteria most of the patients have their compromised functions repaired up to complete recovery of the working ability. According to the repeated evaluation the substantial (35%) loss of the working ability persisted only in 25.8% of the victims. 56.7% of the victims were estimated to have lost 10-30% of their working ability; SPLGWA was absent in 17.5% of the examined subjects.     

医疗纠纷的法医学鉴定

目的研究医疗纠纷法医学鉴定的特点,并讨论医疗纠纷法医学鉴定的重点及难点。方法将医疗缺陷分为责任性缺陷、技术性缺陷、管理性缺陷、学科性缺陷和其他缺陷,对36件案例分别进行分类并进行统计。其中把18例由医疗事故鉴定委员会鉴定的结论与我室的鉴定结果进行比较分析,其他18例另行统计。结果36例案件中存在医疗缺陷的占86.11%,其中技术性缺陷66.67%,责任性缺陷和管理性缺陷均占25%。18例由医疗事故鉴定委员会鉴定的结论与我室的鉴定结果进行比较,医疗缺陷的认定两者有明显差异(P<0.05),对于医疗缺陷已对患者造成不良影响的认定,两者具有显著性差异(P<0.01)。结论法医进行医疗纠纷的鉴定,对医疗纠纷诉讼案件的处理起着积极的作用。目前,医疗纠纷的法医学鉴定仍存在许多问题需要进一步讨论。