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How does a coroner determine whether a drug overdose was a suicide?
Wiki User
∙ 9y ago
Answer It's very difficult to tell if the person had a history of drug use. The coroner usually checks the liver, kidneys, spleen, lungs and heart upon autopsy (the filtering organs can tell a lot). Depending how soon after death the autopsy is done is very important. If the person had a long history of drug abuse, then it's usually "death due to drug over-dose" or "heart attack from over-dose of drugs." If the person does not have a long history of drug abuse then the coroner will certainly do a more extensive search. The person could have taken too large a dose or could have had a malfunction of their heart from birth. There are so many scenarios. The coroner will go by the amount of drugs found in certain organs and determine if it was just an over-dose or upon examining the body to see if the injection site (if there were any) was a forced. If the amount of drugs found in the person (who may not have had a previous drug history) is great, then murder is always a suspect. Generally a person with a drug history that passes away (just a matter of time) is not labeled as "suicide", but a coroner's report such as: "Mr. Smith died from _____ amount of Crystal Meth with a percentage of _________ contained in the liver and kidneys. Stomach content was empty ........ (and so on.) Most of us know that hard core drug users are obviously hooked on the drugs and are unfortunately classified as "the walking dead." It's difficult to stop the habit and thus, it's a matter of time before the person expires. There are instances where kids can go to a party and try Crystal Meth or other drugs and the dose is too strong (they could have been drinking first) and between the alcohol and the drugs it could have caused heart failure. You don't have to be a hard core user of drugs to die from one hit of a drug. Also many of the street drugs could be contaminated (on purpose.) Another instance could be that a teenager is depressed (teenage years, no matter what generation we grew up in, can cause slight depression) and the teenager went to a party and decided to try a hit of Crystal Meth or another narcotic and the dose is too high (unknown to the person taking it) and they have heart failure or choke on their own vomit. This wouldn't be considered suicide. Hope this answers your question, and if you have a family member or friend that has died as a result of drugs, then I am very sorry you are going through this.
Drug levels and findings in the various systems (cardiovascular, for example), will reveal what contributed to and ultimately resulted in death, yes. The most obvious--and only conclusive--indicator of suicide is a note, written by the decedent or credible assertion(s) by someone to whom the decedent revealed his intent to kill himself.
Wiki User
∙ 9y ago
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What is the role of a coroner?
The coroner's jurisdiction is limited to determining who the deceased was and how, when and where they came by their death. When the death is suspected to have been either sudden with unknown cause, violent, or unnatural, the coroner decides whether to hold a post-mortem examination and, if necessary, an inquest.
What are the overdose possibilities for 1 percocet and methamphetamines?
One percocet will definitely not lead to overdose. It depends how much of the methamphetamine was used to gauge whether or not you will overdose.
Does Life insurance pay for accidental overdose?
Most life insurance policies do provide coverage for accidental overdose, unless specified as an exclusion in the policy. However, if the overdose is intentional, it may not be covered. It is important to review your specific policy terms and conditions or consult with your insurance provider for more detailed information.
If a death is consider undertimed what's does it mean?
A cause of death may be listed as undetermined. It means that a medical examiner cannot determine whether the death was natural, accidental, a homicide, or a suicide.
How can you determine whether or not you are responsible for overdose at 17 years old?
If you are 18 or older or the home owner and allowed a 17 year old to use drugs in your presence or your home, you are probably responsible. Don't worry the police will let you know soon enough. Either way try to learn something from this girls overdose. Drugs kill people and almost no one who ever died of an overdose thought it could happen to them.
How many people die from drug overdose each year?
There is almost always uncertainty whether a drug overdose was accidental, or possibly synergistic (combining drugs), or whether the drugs were used for intentional suicide. In the US, according to the National Center for Health Statistics, 38,329 people died of drug overdoses in the United States in 2010. Some 22,000 (57%) of those deaths involved prescription drugs, and about 9400 involved a fatal combination of drugs.
Will an insurance policy payout on an open verdict?
An "open verdict" is a term used in a coroner's inquest to determine a cause of death. Possible outcomes can be natural causes, murder, suicide, or another cause. If dealth is by natural causes, barring anything odd, life insurance should pay without question. Likewise as to murder, although there may be an investigation regarding its circumstances--such as whether the person murdered was the aggressor, or if the beneficiary of the policy was the murderer. Suicide presents a different situation. Most life insurance policies exclude suicide as a payable cause of death during the early years of coverage. The policy terms will specify how long. Once that period has passed there should not be a problem with payment.
How do you determine whether a rock is a rhyolite or an andesite?
The composition of the rock will determine whether it is a rhyolite or an andesite.
What are the laws in Georgia about collecting on life insurance policy after an overdose?
The real answer lies in what the specific Life Insurance Policy states. Various states have some requirements about "suicide" deaths and how long or short of period of years a policy may be in force before suicide is a covered cause of death. If Georgia has no such law, the policy language will govern whether an OD death is covered. Read you policy.
Is Coroner capitalized?
Depends on whether you are talking about a proper noun, for example State Coroner, which is the office, and a unique entity; or the profession, which is common noun representing a non-unique entity (like doctor, dentist, psychiatrist) and should be lowercase.
What can Electromyography determine?
EMG can determine whether a particular muscle is responding appropriately to stimulation, and whether a muscle remains inactive when not stimulated
Did Adolph Hitler commit?
If you are asking whether Hitler committed suicide, the answer is yes.
