No-fault cerebral palsy insurance: an alternative to the obstetrical malpractice lottery

Sixty percent of malpractice premiums paid by obstetricians go to cover suits for alleged birth-related cerebral palsy (CP). Yet substantially less than half of that money goes to CP victims, and less than 10 percent of children with CP receive any compensation at all from tort suits. This paper proposes a system that would compensate all children born with CP for most handicap-related expenses, in exchange for which the children would be foreclosed from bringing suits alleging birth-related malpractice. Malpractice would be policed by a state board, which would investigate all CP cases. This proposal would be more equitable than current systems. It would also be less expensive, since it would avoid costly litigation and decrease the cost of obstetrical malpractice insurance.     

A psychometric typology of U.K. domestic violence offenders

A number of studies have described subtypes of domestically violent men, and the heterogeneity of domestically violent men is well established. The aim of the current study was to investigate the distribution of subtypes using psychometric measures in convicted domestically violent offenders in England. Four subtypes of offenders were identified: low pathology, borderline, narcissistic, and antisocial. These subtypes were broadly comparable with the family-only, dysphoric/borderline, and generally violent/antisocial types proposed by Holtzworth-Munroe and Stuart. The majority of the sample (60%) best fit the generally violent/antisocial profile. However, the reliance on psychometric measurement and lack of corroborative evidence from partners means that further research is necessary to test these findings.     

The work the document does: research, policy, and equity in health

At the center of the politics of health equity, in many countries and circumstances, stands a signal report of research. This article is concerned with what might be described as the architecture of such documents, including how they are produced and organized and the relationships they demonstrate with others that parallel, precede, and succeed them. The article examines how scientific and political authority is established and comments on the evidence of cross-national learning that these documents reveal. It discusses differences in how the problem of health equity is constructed in different countries and how research findings are converted into policy recommendations. It begins to trace a process of implementation by noting how these documents are referred to and written about. The argument is that the politics of health equity are expressed or realized in the documents and reports, which are its principal vehicle. This is not to claim that there is no world beyond the text or that the world somehow is a text, but that to fully understand that world we must understand the text and the work it does.     

Seven hundred seventy eight bite marks: analysis by anatomic location, victim and biter demographics, type of crime, and legal disposition

A study of the etiology, anatomic location, victim demographics and legal disposition of bite mark cases was made with the purpose of updating and augmenting previous research in the field. The information may be of interest to a myriad of professional disciplines including Forensic Odontologists, Medical Examiners, Detectives, Profilers, Emergency Room Personnel, Coroners, Psychologists, and Family Service Counselors, as bite marks provide both physical and biological data. While bite marks were found on all anatomic regions of the body some sites are significantly more likely to receive bites, and the frequency that an area is bitten may vary with the type of crime. Sex and age of the victim may also impact the resulting location and frequency of bites. A survey form for bite mark cases was created and mailed to all Diplomates of the American Board of Forensic Odontology. The survey form was also included in the American Society of Forensic Odontology newsletter. The survey requested that the recipient fill out a separate form for each case for which the recipient was the primary investigator of a patterned injury. The data from the resulting surveys were entered into a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet. The responses detailed two hundred thirty two (259) bite mark cases that included seven hundred (778) individual bite marks. Harvey (1976) and Sweet and Pretty (2000) published studies finding the highest percentage of bites to the breasts. In 1983 Vale and Noguchi published the paper indicating that the most frequently bitten area was the upper extremities. The survey forms were sent to approximately 1100 forensic dentist in 26 countries. The forensic experience level of the dentists varied from neophyte to very experienced. The data were analyzed and the results reported and organized in the following categories; Victim Distribution by Gender, Victim Distribution by Age, Child Abuse Distribution by Age and Gender, Sexual Assault Distribution by age and Gender, Homicide Distribution by Age and Gender, Bite Mark Distribution by Gender and Location, Number of Bite Marks per Victim, Bite mark Distribution Comparison to Previous Research, Child Abuse Suspect Age Distribution by Age and Sex, Homicide Suspect Age Distribution by Age and Sex, Sexual Crimes Suspect Age Distribution by Age and Sex, and Bite Mark Incidence by Anatomical Area and Type of Crime. Fifty-two forensic odontologists from seven countries responded. Nineteen responders were Diplomates of the American Board of Forensic Odontology. The number of cases reported by each responder ranged from one to thirty-three and the average number of cases reported was 4.5. In this broad based study, females were bitten more often than males. The average male victim was younger than the average female victim. Males that were victims tended to be either very young or very old. The youngest victim was a two-month-old boy and the oldest victim a 95-year-old woman. Perpetrators were male more often than female and there was an average of 1.4 suspects per case. The results show that most bites occurred on the arm, followed by the breast. If broken down by gender, males were bitten on the arm more than females, and females were bitten on the breast more often than males. The data show patterns in location and number of bites that seem related to both the type of crime and the age of the victim.     

Injury Pattern as an Indication of Seat Belt Failure in Ejected Vehicle Occupants

Prior authors have suggested that when occupant ejection occurs in association with a seat belt failure, entanglement of the outboard upper extremity (OUE) with the retracting shoulder belt will invariably occur, leaving injury pattern evidence of belt use. In the present investigation, the authors assessed this theory using data accessed from the NASS‐CDS for ejected front seat occupants of passenger vehicles. Logistic regression models were used to assess the associations between seat belt failure status and injuries. Injury types associated with seat belt failure were significant OUE and head injuries (OR = 3.87, [95% CI 1.2, 13.0] and 3.1, [95% CI 1.0, 9.7], respectively). The two injury types were found to be a predictor of seat belt use and subsequent failure only if combined with a high (≥0.8) precrash probability of belt use. The injury pattern associated with a seat belt failure‐related ejection has limited use in the forensic investigation of crash‐related ejections.