EXPERT MEDICAL EVIDENCE

1. CONTUSION; A Contusion is a discolouration of tissue by blood which has extravasated in to it as a result of damage done to small blood vessels by a blunt impact. Only when the extravasated blood is diffusely distributed through the tissue spaces is the lesion a contusion. If the extravasated blood collects as a discrete tumor like mass, the lesion is referred to as a hematoma. There is poor correlation between the force of an impact and the severity of the resulting contusion. Persons with blood dyscrasias, particularly those due to dietary deficiency, may sustain extensive bleeding from vary minor trauma. Multiple bruises from minor trauma are often encountered in alcoholic females and May, prior to autopsy, lead to the impression that physical violence was a more important factor than was actually the case. In the case of a deeply situated contusion, several hours or days may elapse between injury and recognizable discolouration of the skin. A recent contusion is blue and after a day or so tends to develop yellow Arcola, later turning green and finally brown. Therefore it invariably important to record the colour of contusion when first seen. And it is invariably important to note the pattern of the contusions ( or abrasions) if a pattern can be recognized. The pattern of the lesion may be an imprint of the surface of the object that was responsible for it.( CONTUSIONS MAY BE SUSTAINED BY INTERNAL STRUCTURES AS WELL AS BY THE SKIN.THUS,A BLOW ON THE HEAD MAY PRODUCE A CONTUSION OF THE BRAIN WITH OR WITHOUT CORRESPONDING DAMAGE TO THE SCALP. The functional disturbances produced by contusions of internal tissues are variable and unpredictable.)

2. ABRASION: an abrasion is the displacement of the epidermis by friction. Although abrasions are ordinarily little medico legal significance, their presence or absence should always be noted and recorded in personal injury cases. The location and character of an abrasion may help to establish the circumstances in which more severe injuries were sustained. The absence of abrasions may be inconsistent with what is said to have happened. The Direction of the fiction responsible for an abrasion can usually be identified by examining the skin with a hand lens to see which way the fragments of still-attached epidermis have been rolled.

3. LACERATION; A laceration is a disruption of the continuity of a tissue produced by stretching. The most common sites of cutaneous laceration are areas where the skin is stretched over bonyminences. A laceration. A laceration at such site may be as sharply defined, linear, and deep as to resemble an incision. A laceration is frequently curved, and when this is the case the convexity of they are usually points towards the direction from which the disruptive force originated. Two forensic aspects of cutaneous lacerations deserve special emphasis. One is that the skin on the side of the wound opposite to the direction of the motion usually torn free or undetermined for variable distance. The other is that foreign bodies useful in identifying the nature of the object which produced the wound may be found under the skin flap.

CITATIONS ON BLOOD STAINS

1. In cases where blood stained articles from an important part of the prosecution evidence, the police must ensure that the mahazar regarding these articles contain a detailed description of the alleged blood stains including their number and extent. ( 1960 Ker LT 510 )

2. In cases where the accused seriously challenges that the alleged weapon of offence had nothing to do with him or the crime in question , the omission to send the suspected blood stained article for examination by a chemical examinee and by serologist may lead to acquittal of a guilty person simply on account of account of such omission. ( AIR 1956 Raj 34 to 37)

EXAMINATION OF THE INJURED PERSONS

1. In the examinations of wounds which from the subject of medico legal inquiry, whether the victim be alive or dead, very great care should be exercised. If no opinion can be given in certain cases of injury, the person should be kept under observation and this fact reported to the police. In cases which are likely to die from the effect of criminal violence, dying declaration should be recorded. In every case, all observations should be committed to writing at once in the accident Register with appropriate sketches or diagrams. If possible, the photographs of the place should be taken before anything touched and photographs taken of the various wounds. An accident Register is a Register maintained in Hospitals in which the details of examination of the injured person are recorded by the medical officer. The entries therein should be made carefully; nothing should be erased there from; and all alterations should be initialed. The particulars to be entered in the accident Register are as follows;

1. Serial Number

2. Date, time and place of examination,

3. Name including father’s name and surname,

4. Age,

5. Sex,

6. Occupation,

7. Address both residence and office,

8. Brought by whom,

9. Two identification Marks,

10. Dying Declaration necessary or not,

11. Consent for examination

12. Brief history of the case alleged (beaten by whom, with

What, when, and where etc)

13. Detailed Description of the injury,

14. Opinion (Simple / Grievous)

15. Remarks,

16. Signature of the medical Officer

Note; POINTS 8,11,12,15 NEEDS SOME ELOBORATION.

(8) A medico legal case is generally brought by a Police Constable and occasionally by relations, friends, or passersby. If the case is brought by the police constable, his name, number, and police station to which he belongs should be recorded. If brought by relatives, friends, or passersby their names and addresses should be recorded and intimated to the nearest police station immediately.

(9) CONSENT OF EXAMINATION; this is dealt with in detail in the Chapter on “Law in relation to medical men”. It would suffice here to mention that a person of and above the age of 12 years can give consent for examination. It should preferably be written and bear the signature or left thumb impression of the patient. In case of persons below 12 years of age, consent from parent, relative, or guardian is essential.

(10) BRIEF HISTORY OF THE CASE ALLEGED; the injured person may or may not give a correct version of the kind of weapon and mode of assault. False allegations may be made. The medical officer should satisfy himself if the injuries could have been caused by the kind of weapon and in the manner alleged.

(11) REMARKS; This may include any information that is considered essential by the medical officer, such as injuries, and stains on clothing, age of the injury, or if the person was admitted to the Hospital or discharged.

All the above particulars are entered in the register by the Medical Officer in his hand writing. They are also recorded in the injury Certificate or injury Report. When a wounded individual sent by the Police for medical examination, the medical officer is served with a requisition containing the patients statement in vernacular and printed from known as injury report in duplicate, the columns of which he is required to fill in after examining the injured person. One copy of the injury report is dispatched to the concerned police station for investigation of the case and the other retained by the medical officer as office copy for future reference.