Injury Causation Expert Witness Case Study 10

Independent forensic expert evidence in an injury causation case

Bericon Forensics was instructed to provide independent forensic expert witness evidence in a criminal case involving disputed injury causation.

The defendant had been charged with Section 18 wounding. He maintained that the complainant’s injuries had occurred during a scuffle between them rather than as the result of a deliberate attack.

The medical evidence included wounds to the complainant’s neck that had been described by the treating hospital doctor as lacerations.

The forensic expert’s instructions

A forensic medical expert witness was asked to review the available medical evidence and assess the likely cause and mechanism of the complainant’s injuries.

The forensic expert considered:

• the description of the wounds in the hospital records;
• whether the injuries were correctly classified;
• whether they were consistent with a knife;
• whether the wounds were more likely to have resulted from stabbing or slashing;
• the absence of information about wound depth;
• the defendant’s account of the scuffle; and
• the injuries reportedly sustained by the defendant.

Independent forensic medical review

The hospital doctor had described the wounds to the complainant’s neck as lacerations.

The forensic expert explained that a wound caused by the sharp edge of a knife would ordinarily be described as an incised or incisional wound rather than a laceration.

This distinction was important because the medical terminology used in the records did not clearly support the proposition that the injuries had been caused by a knife.

Even if the wounds were accepted as incised injuries, the records did not adequately describe their depth. It was therefore not possible to determine from the available documentation whether they were stab wounds or more superficial slash-type injuries.

The forensic expert considered whether slash-type injuries applied across the surface of the skin could have occurred during a moving struggle or defensive scuffle.

Expert witness conclusion

The forensic medical expert witness concluded that the injuries were capable of having occurred during the scuffle described by the defendant.

The available medical evidence did not establish that the wounds had been caused by a deliberate stabbing action.

The defendant had described raised voices, shouting and fear during the incident. He had also sustained an injury consistent with having been punched.

Taking the medical evidence and surrounding circumstances together, the expert considered that the wounding could have occurred during the struggle rather than as a separate intentional act.

Significance of the forensic expert review

This case demonstrates the importance of accurate wound classification and careful injury causation analysis in cases involving alleged knife attacks.

Terms such as laceration, incised wound, slash wound and stab wound describe different injury mechanisms. The language used in medical records should therefore be examined carefully before conclusions are drawn about how an injury occurred.

Instruct an injury causation expert witness

Bericon Forensics provides access to experienced forensic medical experts and expert witnesses for criminal cases involving:

• injury causation;
• alleged knife and weapon injuries;
• stab, slash and incised wounds;
• lacerations and blunt-force trauma;
• interpretation of hospital and medical records;
• assessment of wound mechanism;
• injury timing and age;
• self-defence and scuffle scenarios;
• review of prosecution medical evidence; and
• independent expert witness reports.

Our forensic medical experts can assess injury descriptions, evaluate possible mechanisms and prepare clear reports for solicitors, counsel and the court.

Contact Bericon Forensics to discuss the instruction of an injury causation expert witness.