Whenever identifying the cause of death in a case, a solicitor will likely need to call upon the expertise and testimony of a Forensic Pathologist, who looks at a range of elements to provide the vital insight and evidence needed to secure or challenge a conviction.

We’ve outlined just some of the ways a Forensic Pathologist Expert Witness can help your case.

Identifying a cause of death

The main role of a Forensic Pathologist is to identify a cause of death, this involves a detailed investigation which falls under two main categories. These are defining the cause when external factors are involved such as an accident or violence, or assessing if disease may have been the cause of a person’s death.

Physical injury

A Forensic Pathologist can be vital in assessing if someone has been killed by external factors. This could be looking to determine whether the injuries someone has suffered as the result of an accident would have been fatal, specifically analysing the trauma to the body and damage to internal organs.

They can also provide an expert witness report that will corroborate whether or not an injury inflicted on a person was fatal - for instance, analysing whether a stab wound or bullet wound was the cause of death.

Disease

Forensic Pathologists are also able to identify disease as the cause of death. This includes identifying whether someone was killed by a heart attack or stroke, for example. Alternatively, they can identify if a condition that arose following an external injury potentially led to complications resulting in death - this could include, where someone suffered a stab wound but the subsequent infection was the cause of death.

Assessing the extent of injuries

In the event that someone has suffered multiple injuries, a Forensic Pathologist helps establish the extent of each injury and identify which one was likely to be fatal.

For example, following an assault in which someone has suffered multiple injuries, a Forensic Pathologist can identify each point of impact and ascertain which blows caused the most and potentially fatal injuries.

Finding the ideal expert witness for your case

Assessing the extent of injury to someone’s body can involve a range of scientific techniques and specialised diagnostics. This assessment forms part of the report that is provided in order to be used as evidence, highlighting the types of injury, probable causes of death and the extent of damage each injury has caused. This is all vital evidence which can be hugely important to the success or failure of a case, which is why its accuracy is paramount.

At Foresight, we work with a number of highly qualified Forensic Pathologists who can provide a highly detailed and accurate expert witness report for your case.

With a panel of over 750 hand-picked professionals, who are all experts within their field, our dedicated Case Handlers will source the most qualified expert for a case.

To learn more about how our services can help you, please visit our website.