Gunshot Wounds

Gun shot wounds or, more usually gunshot wounds can have life altering effects. Death is the obvious one. The #Wiki puts a view of the subject, a biased version of reality. Their number of gunshot wounds, a million or so might or might not be honest. It is ignoring the fact that the Armed Citizen preempts much violence in America. It also ignores the injuries caused by warlike operations in various parts of the world. Then there is the Rwandan genocide carried out with machetes and other farm implements rather than firearms. The Wiki has an agenda but that is another issue.

#Gunshot Wounds receive a lot of attention in criminal cases; they interest forensic pathologists. Perhaps the leading expert in the area is #Vincent Di Maio, a medical man of long experience. His book, #Gunshot Wounds Practical Aspects of Firearms, Ballistics, and Forensic Techniques is favourably reviewed on Amazon.

He was called by the defence in the politically motivated trial of George Zimmerman after he killed Trayvon Martin in self-defence. NB the Wiki article is hostile to Mr Zimmerman. Dr Di Maio's testimony confirmed Mr Zimmerman's account - see Bexar's Di Maio Evidence backs Zimmerman. Major Mainstream Media coverage was given to discredit Mr Zimmerman and win votes for Obama. It worked for him.

Gunshot Wound ex Wiki       
A gunshot wound (GSW) is physical trauma due to a bullet from a firearm.[9][10] Damage may include bleeding, broken bones, organ damage, infection of the wound, or loss of the ability to move part of the body.[2] Damage dependents on the part of the body hit, the path the bullet follows through the body, and the type and speed of the bullet.[10] Long term complications can include lead poisoning and post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).[1][11][2]

Factors that determine rates of firearm violence vary by country.[3] These factors may include the illegal drug trade, access to firearms, substance misuse including alcohol, mental health problems, firearm laws, and social and economic differences.[3][4]

Before hospital management begins by verifying the area is safe.[7] This is followed by stopping major bleeding, than assessing and supporting the airway, breathing, and circulation.[7] Firearm laws, particularly background checks and permit to purchase, decrease the risk of death from firearms.[5] Safer firearm storage may decrease the risk of firearm related deaths in children.[6]

In 2015 about a million gunshot wounds occurred from interpersonal violence.[8] Firearms, globally in 2016, resulted in 251,000 deaths up from 209,000 in 1990.[3] Of these deaths 161,000 (64%) were the result of assault, 67,500 (27%) were the result of suicide, and 23,000 were accidents.[3] Firearm related deaths are most common in males between the ages of 20 to 24 years.[3] Economic costs due to gunshot wounds have been estimated at $US 140 billion a year in the United States.[12]

 

Vincent Di Maio ex Wiki          
Dr. Vincent J. M. Di Maio
is an American pathologist and an expert on the subject of gunshot wounds. He is originally from Brooklyn.[1] Di Maio is a board-certified anatomic, clinical and forensic pathologist, and a private forensic pathology consultant.[2] He attended St. John's University and the State University of New York (SUNY), and received postgraduate training at Duke University, SUNY, and the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner of Maryland.[3]

Di Maio is a veteran of the U.S. Army Medical Corps, and served as chief medical examiner of San Antonio, Texas until 2006, when he retired; Di Maio has more than 40 years of experience as a forensic pathologist.[3][4][5][6] He is the editor-in-chief of the American Journal of Forensic Medicine and Pathology, and has been a professor of the Department of Pathology at the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio.[3] Di Maio is a fellow of the National Association of Medical Examiners (NAME) and the American Academy of Forensic Sciences, and in 2011 he was appointed to the Texas Forensic Science Commission by Governor Rick Perry.[2][7]

Di Maio has authored or co-authored four books and numerous articles related to forensic pathology, and has won several awards for his work, including the Outstanding Service Award from the National Association of Medical Examiners.[3] Di Maio has given expert testimony in a number of high-profile trials, including the George Zimmerman murder trial[8] and has provided his expert opinion on the death of Vincent Van Gogh.[9]

 

Gunshot Wounds Practical Aspects of Firearms, Ballistics, and Forensic Techniques, SECOND EDITION (Practical Aspects of Criminal and Forensic Investigations)
QUOTE
With the increasing use of forensics in courtrooms these days, it's imperative that attorneys be able to understand their applications. I practice criminal defense in Chicago and handle a lot of gun cases. I am also a very small-time solo practitioner whose clients cannot afford expert witnesses. I must, therefore, be able to have a working knowledge of gun-related evidence.

This book provides more than an ample amount of information for all types of firearms: handguns, hunting rifles, shotguns, and assault weapons. It also discusses in great detail the different types of ammunition even to the level of different gun powders and primers. Do you know how to look at a gunshot wound and tell what caliber the bullet was? Or how far away the weapon was fired? Do you know how to visually analyze clothing that bullets have passed through to ascertain the same information? While this book may not be able to adequately train you to answer these questions within a reasonable degree of scientific certainty, it will get you close. You will know by looking at a wound if it was a contact or distant wound and if it was a small or large caliber weapon. More importantly you will know what tests to seek from the crime lab.

In other words, this book will show you what you don't know by explaining all there is to know. I currently have a murder case pending that I needed gunshot residue tests performed on the clothing the victims were wearing. I could have just put in my motion "gunshot residue test". After reading this book, however, I learned the names of the two commonly tests used by most crime labs, how they are done, what they can reveal, and how accurate the results can be. When the State's expert testifies at the trial, I will understand what he's talking about which only makes for a more effective cross.

If you have ever read a ballistics report and had no idea what "lands" and "grooves" were, this book will teach you what they are and how to apply them to a case. I have a military background and have been around a lot of firearms but never realized how much there is to know about them. This book will be an essential reference for years to come or until a new edition is published.

UNQUOTE
As good as it gets? It sounds that way.

 

Forensic Pathology ex Wiki             
Forensic pathology
is pathology that focuses on determining the cause of death by examining a corpse. A post mortem is performed by a medical examiner, usually during the investigation of criminal law cases and civil law cases in some jurisdictions. Coroners and medical examiners are also frequently asked to confirm the identity of a corpse. Also see forensic medicine.

 

Outline Of Forensic Science ex Wiki 
Forensic science – application of a broad spectrum of sciences to answer questions of interest to a legal system. This may be in matters relating to criminal law, civil law and regulatory laws. it may also relate to non-litigious matters. The term is often shortened to forensics.

 

Terminal Ballistics ex Wiki        
Terminal ballistics
(also known as wound ballistics), a sub-field of ballistics, is the study of the behavior and effects of a projectile when it hits and transfers its energy to a target. Bullet design and the velocity of impact largely determine the effectiveness of its impact.[1]