Papers by Carlo Scorretti
International Journal of Legal Medicine, 2020
Ageing of the global population represents a challenge for national healthcare systems and health... more Ageing of the global population represents a challenge for national healthcare systems and healthcare professionals, including medico-legal experts, who assess personal damage in an increasing number of older people. Personal damage evaluation in older people is complex, and the scarcity of evidence is hindering the development of formal guidelines on the subject. The main objectives of the first multidisciplinary Consensus Conference on Medico-Legal Assessment of Personal Damage in Older People were to increase knowledge on the subject and establish standard procedures in this field. The conference, organized according to the guidelines issued by the Italian National Institute of Health (ISS), was held in Bologna (Italy) on June 8, 2019 with the support of national scientific societies, professional organizations, and stakeholders. The Scientific Technical Committee prepared 16 questions on 4 thematic areas: (1) differences in injury outcomes in older people compared to younger peo...
Complex suicides involve more than one suicide method. According to the intention of the victim, ... more Complex suicides involve more than one suicide method. According to the intention of the victim, they are classified as ‘planned’ when the use of more than one suicide technique has been previously devised by the victim and ‘unplanned’ when the first method turns out to be too painful or insufficient to cause death, and the individual then resorts to other means of suicide. Complicated suicide, on the other hand, is a term that was introduced by Töro and Pollak, in which a failed act of suicide is followed by traumatisation, which has a fatal outcome. This type of death must be distinguished from complex suicides. From a sample of 1160 fatalities (837 males) between 1993 and 2017, we identified 20 (1.72%) cases of complex suicide and three (0.26%) cases of complicated suicide. We considered age, sex, psychiatric history, previous suicide attempts, suicide methods and eventual secondary traumatisation. We also compared planned and unplanned complex suicides. The results show a higher...
« E`piu`facile percepire l'errore che trovare la verita`, in quanto uno galleggia in superficie e... more « E`piu`facile percepire l'errore che trovare la verita`, in quanto uno galleggia in superficie ed e`facilmente percepibile, mentre l'altra giace nel profondo, dove pochi sono vogliosi di andarla a cercare »
International Journal of Legal Medicine
Ageing of the global population represents a challenge for national healthcare systems and health... more Ageing of the global population represents a challenge for national healthcare systems and healthcare professionals, including medico-legal experts, who assess personal damage in an increasing number of older people. Personal damage evaluation in older people is complex, and the scarcity of evidence is hindering the development of formal guidelines on the subject. The main objectives of the first multidisciplinary Consensus Conference on Medico-Legal Assessment of Personal Damage in Older People were to increase knowledge on the subject and establish standard procedures in this field. The conference, organized according to the guidelines issued by the Italian National Institute of Health (ISS), was held in Bologna (Italy) on June 8, 2019 with the support of national scientific societies, professional organizations, and stakeholders. The Scientific Technical Committee prepared 16 questions on 4 thematic areas: (1) differences in injury outcomes in older people compared to younger peo...
Medicina e Morale
Nel testo proposto come nuovo rifacimento del Codice deontologico, presentato negli ultimi giorni... more Nel testo proposto come nuovo rifacimento del Codice deontologico, presentato negli ultimi giorni di giugno 2013 dalla Federazione degli Ordini dei Medici italiani ed ancora in procinto di essere approvato, permane una mancanza di indicazioni su alcuni aspetti non trascurabili della professione medica attuale, quali l’asimmetria del rapporto medico-paziente, la distribuzione delle risorse (sempre più ridotte) ed il loro impiego, e soprattutto la natura morale, non solo tecnica, delle decisioni e dell’operare del medico. La tendenza a ridurre il rapporto con la persona sofferente a semplice prestazione tecnica, anche attraverso l’impiego di nuovi termini definitori del paziente (es. persona assistita), comportano una diversa relazione e suggeriscono una riduzione della autonomia del medico, limitando la possibilità per il sanitario di appellarsi alla sua “coscienza”. Non viene inoltre adeguatamente considerata, nel testo proposto, la particolare responsabilità di chi esercita una pro...
Medicina e Morale
Nel testo proposto come nuovo rifacimento del Codice deontologico, presentato negli ultimi giorni... more Nel testo proposto come nuovo rifacimento del Codice deontologico, presentato negli ultimi giorni di giugno 2013 dalla Federazione degli Ordini dei Medici italiani ed ancora in procinto di essere approvato, permane una mancanza di indicazioni su alcuni aspetti non trascurabili della professione medica attuale, quali l’asimmetria del rapporto medico-paziente, la distribuzione delle risorse (sempre più ridotte) ed il loro impiego, e soprattutto la natura morale, non solo tecnica, delle decisioni e dell’operare del medico. La tendenza a ridurre il rapporto con la persona sofferente a semplice prestazione tecnica, anche attraverso l’impiego di nuovi termini definitori del paziente (es. persona assistita), comportano una diversa relazione e suggeriscono una riduzione della autonomia del medico, limitando la possibilità per il sanitario di appellarsi alla sua “coscienza”. Non viene inoltre adeguatamente considerata, nel testo proposto, la particolare responsabilità di chi esercita una pro...
Forensic science international, 2018
Complex suicides are rare and consist in the use of more than one method to induce death, represe... more Complex suicides are rare and consist in the use of more than one method to induce death, representing a challenging investigation for forensic pathologists. According to the several combinations reported in literature, they have been classified into "typical" (where two common suicide methods are associated) and "atypical" (where more than two methods, or infrequent combinations of suicide methods are involved). In the case discussed here, an elderly man suffering of depression was found dead inside the tool shed of his house with a knife embedded in the abdomen and two plastic bags fastened around the neck using a twine. Three other superficial stab wounds were clustered close to the penetrating lesion. Internal examination revealed haemorrhagic infiltration at the mesentery and haemoperitoneum. No evident signs of asphyxia were highlighted and the cause of death was attributed to haemorrhagic shock. This association of suicide methods has turned out to be unus...
Medicine, Science and the Law, 2021
Complex suicides involve more than one suicide method. According to the intention of the victim, ... more Complex suicides involve more than one suicide method. According to the intention of the victim, they are classified as 'planned' when the use of more than one suicide technique has been previously devised by the victim and 'unplanned' when the first method turns out to be too painful or insufficient to cause death, and the individual then resorts to other means of suicide. Complicated suicide, on the other hand, is a term that was introduced by T€ oro and Pollak, in which a failed act of suicide is followed by traumatisation, which has a fatal outcome. This type of death must be distinguished from complex suicides. From a sample of 1160 fatalities (837 males) between 1993 and 2017, we identified 20 (1.72%) cases of complex suicide and three (0.26%) cases of complicated suicide. We considered age, sex, psychiatric history, previous suicide attempts, suicide methods and eventual secondary traumatisation. We also compared planned and unplanned complex suicides. The results show a higher number of planned complex suicides (16 vs. 4), a prevalence of males (n ¼ 17) and adults (median age ¼ 48 years, range 21-74 range). Plastic bag suffocation and gas inhalation (n ¼ 8) were the most commonly used methods. Firearms (n ¼ 4) were used exclusively by males in planned complex suicides. Wrist and forearm cuts (n ¼ 5) were found in four unplanned and one planned complex suicides, and all of the cases with known previous suicidal attempts (n ¼ 3) involved planned complex suicides. Complicated suicides concerned three male victims in two failed attempts of hanging and an unforeseen carbon monoxide intoxication following a non-fatal gunshot to the mouth, confirming the rarity of these fatalities.
Pratica Medica & Aspetti Legali, 2016
[The introduction of the law 41/2016 on vehicular homicide and road traffic injuries: medical-leg... more [The introduction of the law 41/2016 on vehicular homicide and road traffic injuries: medical-legal issues and analysis of case law]The law n. 41/2016 has recently introduced, into the Italian penal code, articles n. 589-bis and 590-bis that concern vehicular homicide and road traffic personal injuries. Although this leads to a tightening of the penalties, today a lot of criticities still remains; in particular, the assessment of the psychophysical condition of the driver and relative applying procedures. These problematic issues have alreadybeen highlighted under a medico-legal perspective and today emerge also from an acquittal or conviction sentences that, arising from equivalent evidences, are interpreted in divergent or even antithetical ways.
Pratica Medica & Aspetti Legali, 2015
<p&amp... more <p>Road traffic crashes are a main cause of physical harm and mortality. That means a heavy burden in terms of short, medium and long-term disability and public costs for society. Among the most relevant cases of severe accidents is driving under the influence of alcohol and psychoactive drugs. That’s the reason of the international strong effort to combating the phenomenon. <br />In Italy the draft law concerning the criminal offence of vehicular homicide and road traffic personal injuries is currently being discussed. Previously the law n. 120/2010 has already changed the regulation in matter of drink-driving and driving under the influence of controlled substances with stiffer penalties for transgressors and (at least some) guidance as to assess the infringement. <br />The draft law suggests that clinical and toxicological evidences of actual driving impairment has to be proved to reach significance in court, nevertheless no standard and effective procedure has being established for detection, at least for what concerns controlled substances. <br />The purpose of this article is to put in evidence, in accordance with a medico-legal perspective, some of the issues that emerge from this complex matter (i.e. the need of a list of the impairing substance under detection, of well-defined legal cut-off values, of a better definition of the problems following the therapeutic use of drugs of abuse and other concerns), issues, those, that are now more troubling whereas the introduction of new crimes and punishments is becoming more concrete.</p>
Anthropologischer Anzeiger
The distribution of C3 phenotypes in the population of Veneto was investigated by electrophoresis... more The distribution of C3 phenotypes in the population of Veneto was investigated by electrophoresis on agarose gel. In our sample (n = 810) the three common phenotypes C3 SS, C3 FF and C3 FS and a further phenotype, C3 S-VF, were observed. The following gene frequencies could be calculated: C3S = 0.8068, C3F = 0.1926 and C3V = 0.0006. These frequencies have been compared with those found in other populations. The analysis of 21 mother-child pairs was in agreement with an autosomal codominant inheritance.
Anthropologischer Anzeiger
The Asmat are a population of about 35,000 people living on the South-West coast of Irian-Jaya (I... more The Asmat are a population of about 35,000 people living on the South-West coast of Irian-Jaya (Indonesia; New Guinea). This paper presents the results of enzyme group and serum protein group typings in a sample of Asmats living in the coastal region around Agats. Red cell enzyme polymorphisms (EaP, PGM1, 6-PGD, EsD, ADA and AK) could be typed in 154 blood samples, serum protein polymorphisms (Ge, alpha 1-AT, PLG, Tf and Hp) in 160 blood samples. The results of this study are discussed in detail.
Pratica Medica & Aspetti Legali, 2014
Forensic Science International, 1983
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Papers by Carlo Scorretti