Overview

This webinar looks at the medicolegal investigation that takes place surrounding a sudden death and the police actions from the initial point of contact.  In England and Wales half a million deaths occur a year and 80,000 post-mortems are requested.  But at what point should you step back if you think it’s suspicious?  This lecture outlines the distinction between a ‘non-forensic’ and a ‘forensic’ post-mortem and discusses the grey area in between.  It aims to highlight key areas that general autopsy pathologists should be aware of in the history, external and internal examination.  The presentation will include case studies of referrals to forensic pathology and a discussion about key documentation on this topic which is available on the Royal College of Pathologists website.

This event will take place at 1:00pm and last approximately 1 hour.

CPD

This meeting is worth 1 CPD point (self credited).

Autopsy webinar series

  • Dr Sophie Wallace

    Forensic Pathology Registrar

    Dr Sophie Wallace is an ST6 Forensic Pathology Registrar at the East Midlands Forensic Pathology Unit in Leicester.  She has spent the last 5 years in an apprenticeship style role with currently 3 consultants at the Unit assisting with post-mortems on suspicious deaths over five counties. She attends Coroner's court and Crown Court to observe expert witness testimonies and attends crime scenes to assist the police.  She also undertakes teaching for medical students and general histopathology trainees. She sits as a forensic trainee representative on the death investigation committee for the Royal College of Pathologists and on the autopsy pathology committee for the Association of Clinical Pathologists.