CHAPTER 7:

MEDICOLEGAL
CLASSIFICATION OF THE
CAUSES OF DEATH
MEDICOLEGAL CLASSIFICATION
CAUSES OF DEATH

OF

or death due to Hemorrhage from

thrombosis or
embolism in the
cerebral vessels.
b) Abscess of the brain
c) Meningitis of the fulminant type
2) Affection of the circulatory system
a) Occlusion of the coronary vessels most common cause of Sudden
death due to natural causes.
b) Fatty or myocardial degeneration of
the heart.
c) Rupture of the aneurysm of the aorta
d) Valvular heart disease
e) Rupture of the heart

THE

a. Natural death - cause by natural disease

condition in the body.
b. Violent death
1)
2)
3)
4)
5)
6)

Accidental death
Negligent death
Infanticidal death
Parricidal death
Murder
Homicidal death

3) Affections of the Respiratory system

a) Acute edema of the larynx
b) Tumor of the larynx
c) Diphtheria
d) Edema of the lungs
e) Pulmonary embolism
f) Lobar pneumonia
g) Pulmonary hemorrhage

If signs of violence are associated with the

natural cause of death:

* Did the person die of a natural cause

and were the physical injuries inflicted
immediately after death?
- Violence
applied in a dead person: Impossible crime

4) Affections of the GIT

a) Ruptured PUD
b) Acute intestinal obstruction
5) Affections of the GUT
a) Acute strangulated hernia
b) Ruptured tubal pregnancy
c) Ovarian cyst with twisted pedicle

* Was the victim suffering from a

natural disease and the violence only
accelerate the death?

= Offender responsible of the death of the

victim.

6) Affection of the glands

a) Status thymico-lymphaticus
b) Acute hemorrhagic pancreatitis

= Criminal liability shall be incurred by any

person committing a felony

7) Sudden death in young children

a) Bronchitis
b) Congestions of the lungs
c) Acute bronchopneumonia
d) Acute gastroenteritis
e) Convulsion
f) Spasm of the larynx

Although the wrongful act done be

different from which he intended. (Art.4 no.1
RPC)

* Did the victim die of a natural cause

independent of the violence inflicted?

- accused will not be responsible for the

death but merely for the physical
injuries he had inflicted. Ex. Slapping a
person with heart problem, only slight physical
injury.
- to make the offender liable for the death
of the victim, it must be proven that the death
is the natural consequence of the physical
injuries inflicted.

The following
natural causes:

are

deaths

due

to

1) Affection of the CNS

a) Cerebral apoplexy - sudden loss of
consciousness followed by paralysis

B. Violent death

= are due to injuries inflicted in the body by

some forms of outside force.
The physical injury must be the proximate
cause of death.
= That the victim at the time the physical
injuries were inflicted was in normal health.
= That the death may be expected from the
physical injuries inflicted.
= That the death ensued within a
reasonable time.