Sexual Assault Examination of the Unconscious Patient: A Legal, Ethical and Professional Grey-area for the Forensic Physician

When treating unconscious patients believed to have been victims of sexual assault, forensic physicians must decide whether to conduct physical examinations in order to collect evidence while patients are unconscious and cannot consent. The choice is urgent: potential evidence may be lost before the patient regains the ability to consent. The physician's choice affects not only the patient's bodily integrity, but also their ability to pursue criminal and potentially civil justice remedies if they were assaulted. This article bases its discussion on one such real-life situation. It first examines ethical models relevant to deciding whether to take evidence and finds that no one approach produces morally satisfactory outcomes in every case. It then examines the legal framework guiding these decisions, finding that while collecting evidence without consent may well be permissible under New South Wales (NSW) legislation, relevant guidelines disallow it, placing physicians in a legal grey-area. The article concludes with practical recommendations to address these ethical, professional and legal challenges.

Continuing Education Programme - Victorian Institute of Forensic Medicine and Department of Forensic Medicine, Monash University

Given the increasing requirement of the courts for forensic experts to engage in ongoing education, a continuing education programme was developed in forensic medicine at the Victorian Institute of Forensic Medicine to cater for both clinicians and pathologists. The programme consists of a series of cases which are circulated several times per year. All are actual cases and are reflective of the types of presentations experienced in forensic medicine. Each case includes relevant and appropriate details/findings and may include photographs. A series of questions follow which are answered usually in short-answer format. The answers are returned and correlated by a review panel, and a commentary with the response outcome is distributed to all those involved. The cases presented here are selected from this programme.

Continuing education programme - Victorian Institute of Forensic Medicine and Department of Forensic Medicine, Monash University

Given the increasing requirement of the courts for forensic experts to engage in ongoing education, a continuing education programme was developed in forensic medicine at the Victorian Institute of Forensic Medicine to cater for both clinicians and pathologists. The programme consists of a series of cases which are circulated several times per year. All are actual cases and are reflective of the types of presentations experienced in forensic medicine. Each case includes relevant and appropriate details/findings and may include photographs. A series of questions follow which are answered usually in short-answer format. The answers are returned and correlated by a review panel, and a commentary with the response outcome is distributed to all those involved. The cases presented here are selected from this programme.

Continuing education programme - Victorian Institute of Forensic Medicine and Department of Forensic Medicine, Monash University

Given the increasing requirement of the courts for forensic experts to engage in ongoing education, a continuing education programme was developed in forensic medicine at the Victorian Institute of Forensic Medicine to cater for both clinicians and pathologists. The programme consists of a series of cases which are circulated several times per year. All are actual cases and are reflective of the types of presentations experienced in forensic medicine. Each case includes relevant and appropriate details/findings and may include photographs. A series of questions follow which are answered usually in short-answer format. The answers are returned and correlated by a review panel, and a commentary with the response outcome is distributed to all those involved. The cases presented here are selected from this programme.

Drug-induced anisocoria in two detainees

Two suspects held by the police were examined for fitness to be interviewed. It was noticed that both had a persistent unilateral dilated pupil in the absence of a history of pre-existing disease or acute head injury. They subsequently admitted to misuse of eye drops. A brief review of the significance of anisocoria (unequal pupils) and drugs that may cause altered pupillary size follows.

Breath testing in patients with respiratory disability

The presence of chronic respiratory disease is sometimes claimed as a defence by drivers who refuse or fail a breath test. Trials have been conducted with two breath analysis instruments used in the state of Victoria, Australia in order to determine the respiratory parameters compatible with a satisfactory test. Patients with restrictive and obstructive conditions participated in the trial that was conducted in the respiratory unit of a large teaching hospital. The results showed that the evidential breath analyzer currently used in Victoria was able to accept breath samples from subjects at the limit of respiratory function likely to be encountered in drivers. It was also found that a subject capable of providing a breath sample for the current screening device should also be able to provide an evidential sample. The trials provided useful information in evaluating defences of inability to provide a breath sample due to respiratory incapacity.