Fighting for Life
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Description · Table of Contents · Introduction |
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Description |
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Millions of families struggle to understand the horrific practices exhibited by the medical examiner and coroner system in this country and of those directly involved in that system-law enforcement agencies, prison and jail personnel, contracted medical personnel, hospitals, nursing homes, assisted living residences, and the funeral home industry. Consider for a moment . . .
Consider further. . .
Failed attempts by families to obtain needed answers to pressing, gnawing questions concerning a sickness and death are the net result of their lack of knowledge and understanding of the multiple players involved within the system, the interaction of those players and of the process itself. Unanswered questions that haunt them on the inside result in frustration, impatience, fear and anger which play directly into the very hands of those that have aggravated or caused the situation in the first place. Outraged at the arrogance and refusal of those involved to provide answers and explanations, families have little or no idea what they are to do or can do. No information exists that explains the big picture, the tricks and traps that are in place, the ins and outs of that system and how to handle them-until now. In this landmark book KRusso addresses these issues head-on exposing substandard and questionable practices of a system that criss-crosses professional lines, taking unwarranted license with the unsuspecting and grieving. Past and present, borne of in-depth training and education, coupled with twenty years of hands-on experience in specific forensic disciplines, healthcare delivery generally, prison healthcare and death specifically, & monitoring the practices of the death investigation system nationwide, Russo is considered an expert in navigating through those systems on behalf of families, attorneys and others. Key forensic training, a criminal justice and seminary educational background, public speaker, past professor, founding director and consultant with The Wrongful Death & Injury Institute, Inc., has cultivated incredible insight and ability to translate for others in simple language the mechanics of those systems and how best to navigate through them. She shines a bright light in the dark corners of the death investigation system against the backdrop of sudden and suspicious deaths in society and within the prison system to provide a hands-on guide for families so they are better equipped to handle problems and concerns before they arise-efficiently, thoroughly and economically. She's adamant that all understand with crystal clear clarity how prison death investigations are handled. Armed with that knowledge goes a long way in understanding the inner workings of the death investigation system in society, and how it can, will and does affect those not involved with incarceration issues at all. What happens to them can happen to you. None escape death. Knowing how to deal with the business of it ensures an unhindered grieving process for each of us and those we leave behind. |
Table of Contents |
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1. SPEECHLESS WITH SORROW + Death is Inevitable + Speechless with Sorrow + Ignorance is Not Bliss 2. THINK FIRST TALK LATER + Thinking is Labor Intensive + Critical Thinking + What Critical Thinking Requires + Words are So Important 3. THE BUSINESS OF DEATH + Layers and Players + Different But the Same + Start with Facts 4. THE MEDICOLEGAL DEATH INVESTIGATION SYSTEM + System Varieties + Importance of Death Investigation Systems +Dr. Doe, You are a Pathologist Correct? + Knowledge is Key + Locating Your Death Investigation System + Different Systems within the System 5. CORONERS and CORONER SYSTEM + Titles are Confusing + Job Requirements + Coroner's Inquest + Training and Credentialing + County Level and Elected + Conflicts of Interest, Arrogance and Abuse + Beware of Ongoing Problems 6. MEDICAL EXAMINERS + Medical Doctor and Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine + General Internist and General Practitioner + Surgeon + Chiropractor + Back to the Medical Examiner + Titles are Confusing + Office of the Medical Examiner and Job Duties + Death Investigators + Nuances and Problems + In a Pinch 7. PATHOLOGISTS + Overview 8. FORENSIC PATHOLOGY and FORENSIC PATHOLOGISTS + Training and Certification + Forensic Autopsy 9. AUTOPSIES + Generally + Good Versus Bad Autopsies + Can't Sue + Hospital and Nursing Home Deaths + Forensic autopsy + Requesting First or Second Autopsies 10. PRISON DEATH INVESTIGATIONS, PRISON HEALTHCARE AND PRISON AUTOPSIES + Overview + Requirements Are Not the Same + Prison Healthcare Delivery The Basics + Incorrect Records Equals Incorrect Death Certificates 11. SUICIDE + Overview + Suicide Investigations in Society + Prison Death by Suicide--Not So Fast + Investigation 101 + When An Inmate Dies + Performance of Life Saving Measures + Dead But Not Dead + Contracted Medical Examiners + Contracted Forensic Pathologists + Notification of Family Often Delayed + What If + When Notified of an Inmate Death + Demand Hard Answers + The Discipline of Thinking and Writing + Location of Body + Autopsy? Maybe--Maybe Not + Death and Inmate Property + Take the Offensive 12. DEATH CERTIFICATES + Overview + The Death Certificate Form + The Elderly + Inmate Death Certificate Reporting + A Warning and an Example + Ensure Accuracy + Hipaa + Privacy Versus Public Protection + Inmate Cause and Manner of Death + What Is Not Being Said + The Death in Custody Reporting Act of 2000 13. FUNERAL HOMES AND FUNERAL ARRANGEMENTS + Funeral Home Practices + Under the Radar + Don't Rush To Cremate + Do Not Agree to Let DOCs Take Care of Funeral Arrangments + Do Not Agree to Sign Burial or Cremation Orders + Embalming--Maybe, Maybe Not + The Embalming Procedure + Chance of Exhumation Later + Mortician Paint + Unethical Behavior + Unprofessional Conduct 14. TOXICOLOGY AND TOXICOLOGY LABORATORIES 15. ACCREDITATION + Professional Accreditation + Accreditation Agencies 16. PROFESSIONAL CODES OF ETHICS + Morality and Ethics + Codes of Ethics 17. GET THE FACTS + Be in the Know + Be Careful Where You Get Your Information + Don't Guess and Don't Assume 18. STATUTE OF LIMITATIONS + Overview + Statute Guidelines + Statute of Limitations by State 19. FINAL THOUGHTS |
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IntroductionThis book is written as a guide to help those faced with the death of a loved one. That death may be the result of the general wearing out process that is assigned to us all or it may be the result of unnatural, suspicious or violent death. In whichever way death comes words for the grieving are replaced with tears. Blinded by overwhelming sorrow it becomes so very hard to handle the issues of the moment that death requires and even more difficult for those facing the death of a loved one due to unnatural circumstances. Close friends and family can provide much needed help by guiding them and helping them navigate through the process however, to do so requires that they be knowledgeable of that process. This book is written to shine a bright light on the death investigation system nationwide to better equip all who will be forced to navigate through it. Whether death is a result of homicide, suicide, accident or natural causes, whether in a hospital, nursing home, retirement home, jail or prison, the common denominator among those affected by such deaths is a lack of general and specific knowledge of the systems overall and what to do when. Sorrow and grief are intensified when met with the arrogance of those very individuals who are to provide information and answer questions. Instead those individuals charged with the task of providing answers traffic in misrepresentation of fact, equivocation of terms and titles to confuse and frustrate those left behind. Very few people know who actually is involved in the death investigation process and what the mechanics of that system are overall. Rarely are families aware of options available to them or made aware of those options. Good friends and close family can help tremendously in these times of great pain if they are knowledgeable of the ins and outs of the process themselves. So many are not. While the focus of this book highlights the pitfalls of the death investigation system with its egregious behaviors and practices, it's important that it be said at the outset that not all those involved in the death investigation process are incompetent, inept, uncaring and unethical. On the contrary there are indeed those in the medical, correctional and legal arenas who do a remarkable service and do so with great compassion and remarkable skill. One can only imagine how much worse the system would be were they not strategically placed within the various disciplines shining as bright lights for those needing clarity and answers. This book however, is not about them. This book was not the book I thought would be completed first. Fighting for Life—The Cross of Prison Healthcare was scheduled to be released first. That book is a detailed guide, a companion to this one for those fighting for the life of a loved one assigned to a local, state, or federal correctional facility. It represents years of consulting in the areas of prison healthcare delivery and death investigations, the hurdles that are put in place to prevent or make more difficult adequate delivery of that healthcare and the difficulties families and attorneys have in obtaining information to key questions. For those curious how healthcare delivery under current and future reforms might work you need look no further than your state penitentiary. It represents what happens to healthcare when the government assumes progressively more control over expenses, diagnoses, and treatment regimens. And the picture isn't pretty. After seven years of writing The Cross of Prison Healthcare it was during the editing process that I received many phone calls within a short period of time from families across the country in the throes of dealing with the death of loved ones and not knowing what to do. Their frustration, grief, heartache and sorrow confirmed for me the unrelenting havoc and destruction that an inept death investigation system can and continues to wield on those forced to deal with it. Although the subject matter of this book was addressed in The Cross of Prison Healthcare, it became apparent that specific information needed to be lifted out of the first and made available separately and first. For many years I have watched, read and listened to people struggle to understand the horrific practices exhibited by the coroner and medical examiner system, law enforcement agencies, correctional and contracted medical personnel, hospitals, nursing homes and funeral home industry, as they attempted to obtain answers to pressing questions concerning a sickness or death. Try as hard as they may their lack of knowledge and understanding of the death investigation process itself results in feeble and oftentimes failed attempts to obtain those needed answers. Those unanswered questions result in frustration, leading to impatience, wrapped in fear and anger, which play into the very hands of those that have aggravated or caused the situation in the first place. Listening to you over the years has not been in vain. Coupled with an unending study of death issues generally, the death investigation system and delivery of healthcare in society and within the correctional system specifically, your circumstances have allowed me to utilize a unique background and experiences to shine a bright light in some very dark corners to help those of you subjected to inept practices better understand the system and offer insights that prayerfully will encourage you and empower you to get a working knowledge of the issues you will face, learn how to ask good questions, and expect and obtain complete answers. For those who are of the belief they know it all, you will not hear me. For those who are serious about the subject matter, this book will provide you with good solid basic information. The information in this book should be read in conjunction with The Cross of Prison Healthcare. Each book dovetails the subject matter in the other. Together they are companion pieces; component parts that fit together nicely to give you a better understanding of the big picture of the state of healthcare and the death investigation system in this country. After two decades dealing with death issues there is a common denominator running through each and every death that greatly impacts surviving family members: they had little or no idea what to expect from the agencies, organizations and people within the very systems they were forced to deal with. They became outraged at the arrogance and refusal of those charged with the public trust to provide adequate answers and explanations regarding their decision making process as it related to the death of their loved one. They were equally stunned at the refusal of so-called professionals to listen to their concerns or accept new evidence that would require at the least a second look into the death investigation process itself and perhaps a re-examination of a death certificate, already replete with glaring omissions. Many families were not prepared to handle the issues that surrounded the death. They had little or no idea what they were supposed to do or could do, and had no idea where to obtain the information they needed in order to better be able to handle each issue as it arose. Throughout this book reference is made to the families of the dying and deceased inmates within this country's correctional system. Understanding with clarity how prison death investigations are handled goes a long way in understanding how it will affect those of you not directly affected by incarceration. So, while some of you may not have any experience with incarceration issues and have no direct involvement with a loved one who is incarcerated, know that what is happening to the families of these inmates is happening in your neighborhood and can very easily happen to you at any time. While it is true that blame can be assessed to the varying professions and members within those professions responsible for inadequate healthcare delivery and substandard death investigations, it is important to state that part of the blame lies squarely in the lap of those that it directly effects—inmates and their families, and then the rest of us. Both groups cannot afford to continue to ignore the problems that have increasingly become more prevalent and at great expense to all of us financially, emotionally, physically, and spiritually. Your local and state politicians are directly responsible for the laws, codes and statutes governing healthcare delivery and the death investigation practices within your state. It is you that votes (or fails to vote) those politicians into office. Rarely do people take the time to research the voting records of politicians, review legislative bills they have drafted and introduced, researched the committees they serve on, the number of lobbyists assigned to each issue and the amount of money donated by corporations to those issues and to the politicians themselves. It is you the voter, who has the power and authority to change these practices as well as, the laws. Problem is so many don't take the time to research issues and obtain information. For those who are proactive in these areas oftentimes procrastination or failure to act is the result. Only in a crisis does the importance of accurate information, knowledge and understanding become apparent. Only in a crisis do people become acutely aware of their deficiency. Only in a crisis when the need to act swiftly and efficiently and make key decisions is it glaringly apparent that they are unable to do so. Rather than accept responsibility for these failures the resulting behavior is finger pointing and blame based on no fact. I write this book not as a solicitation for work but to encourage you to start working, always with the invitation to contact us for the needed consulting you will undoubtedly need. You may do so through our website http://www.wrongfuldeathinstitute.com. Providing information is one thing; knowing what to do with it is another. Key detailed information needed to address specific concerns and address certain issues is not provided in this book. Again, this book is a guide. I write this book so you become and remain encouraged and optimistic about outcomes and about life. Understandably for the friends and families of the dead and dying, grief may soon turn to guilt over the failure of not doing something. Guilt and grief can turn any belief you may have had in God upside-down. Outrage, anger, depression and deep sorrow may displace faith and trust in God especially if permanent disability or death is the result of your failed attempts. Lastly, but most importantly, I write this book to state and bear witness to a truth that so many of us forget in this life until the Reality of life—death, forces us to remember: God is in control. That doesn't mean we are to sit down and do nothing. That doesn't mean that we are to stick our head in the sand. That doesn't mean that we are to rely on someone else to do for us what He wants to do through each of us. What it does mean is that there is a particular and specific way to handle the issues of this life that far exceeds any other. For me, it is a way of life grounded in unwavering faith in a Person. If you are a follower of Christ Jesus, the question is, will you let Him do through you what He wills to do in you? It is a question few understand. It implies a way of life surrendered exclusively to His way of thinking and doing. To understand Him you have to get to know Him. You can't love a person you don't really know. To get to know Him you have to spend quality and consistent time with Him. He is at the back of everything. Of all things at all times in every time. Don't ever doubt it. Don't ever forget it. That truth applies to every issue within the pages of this book. Every issue has its cause, effect and remedy in Him. There are no easy answers when someone dies suddenly or at the hands of another but learning how to think a specific way leads into the gift of seeing the unseen in the seen. For those of you who choose not to believe, there is enough hard information in this book to justify your reading it. Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean Be anxious for nothing but in everything by prayer and petition |
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Excerpts from Chapter 11 - Suicide and Death Investigation
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Dead But Not DeadWhen correctional staffers arrive at an inmate's cell and clearly observe that he is deceased and may have been deceased for hours, many times they will handle the situation as if the inmate was still alive. Why? There are a couple of reasons for doing so. One reason is that they do not want other inmates to know that the inmate is actually dead. They want inmates to assume the deceased inmate is still alive. By treating the inmate as if he were alive even though he is dead provides a way for correctional staffers to avoid conducting a medicolegal death investigation. They don't have to conduct them because they're not deeming the inmate as dead. Treating the inmate as if he is alive shifts the issue to ambulance attendants even though there is no question in the mind of EMTs that he is dead and may have been dead for hours. Once paramedics arrive, medical staffers may or may not tell the paramedics that the inmate had a DNR. Many times paramedics just by training alone are required to begin life saving measures immediately, even if it's clear the inmate is dead unless a DNR is provided to them. They usually are working fast and furious to get the inmate stabilized, on a stretcher, and to an outside hospital. This works to the prison's advantage. First, other inmates may see the paramedics performing life saving measures. They may witness the inmate being transported out of the prison on a stretcher hooked up to I.V.s. That suggests to them that the inmate actually is alive when in reality he is not. Second, it releases correctional staffers from implementing and conducting any qualified death investigations because in their
mind, the inmate wasn't dead even though he was. And third, the inmate will be pronounced dead en route or on arrival to the hospital, not on-site at the prison facility. Treating the
deceased inmate as if he were alive allows the prison to report that death as one occurring off-site from the prison. If the inmate is pronounced dead on the way to the hospital or at the
hospital itself, the death is then reported in that way inferring he was alive at the prison when in fact, he was dead. If the area hospital happens to be in another county other than the
county where the prison facility is located, that inmate's death is reported in the county where the hospital is located-not the county where the prison facility is located. As such, the
death will be included in that county's death statistics not the county where the prison is located and certainly not counted as a prison death on-site. Countless prison deaths are reported
as deaths en route to area hospitals or at area hospitals themselves rather than at the prison facility where the death actually occurred. This method of prison death reporting is more
common than one might think and just one of many reasons why death reporting surveys, studies and statistics are highly misleading, not completely accurate, and fail to track other key
information. They fail to take any of these practices into account. |
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Copyright © 2012 K Russo - The Wrongful Death & Injury Institute Inc. All Rights Reserved. These articles or pages may not be copied, transmitted, forwarded, reposted, or republished, in whole or in part, electronically or in any other format, without express written permission. This is not a solicitation for legal business. The Institute is not engaged in the practice of law. The Institute is a consulting firm. Mere contact through this website does not constitute a contract or agreement for consulting services. |