The “magnificent seven errors” in forensic autopsy practice”: the Italian Context

Medical examiners (MEs) have a very complex set of responsibilities centered on the performance of a forensic autopsy. The quality of this activity is always questioned in the courts of incorrect evaluations are dangerous because they can jeopardize the validity of a criminal investigation and thus affect the outcome, so that a real culprit can be acquitted or an innocent person convicted. Non-compliance also discredits the professionalism of the specialist performing the autopsy. The work of a forensic scientist implies a series of assignments and tasks that should be taken into constant consideration, but when some aspects of this activity are underestimated or neglected, this can lead the expert to commit errors with irreparable consequences for the judicial investigation. In this paper we take an in-depth look at seven potential errors related to autopsy activity following death from unnatural causes, with the aim of providing practical guidelines for SMEs. These relate to: oversights in autopsy technique; erroneous collection of photographic and video material; unauthorized participation in the autopsy; reporting failures/misses at any stage of the forensic activity; failure to notify the consulting forensic party; using unaccredited histology or toxicology laboratories for forensic activities; and failure to follow the chain of custody.