Misdiagnosed Injuries of Unusual Gunshot Wounds in the Clinical Forensic Practice

Authors: Jakjovski Z*, Stankov A, Pavlovski G, Bitoljanu N, Srpanova VB, Cakar L and Janeska B

Volume 5, Issue 2

Abstract

Gunshot wounds are common in the forensic practice. The specific features of gunshot wounds usually make it easy to determine the entrance and exit wound. In some cases in the clinical practice, however, gunshot wounds can be misdiagnosed by the clinicians, especially when atypical ammunition has been used or in cases of long range shots, ricochet bullets and shots trough solid material. All of the above mentioned situations can cause morphological changes to the entrance wound which are not specific for a gunshot wound and can lead to misdiagnosis and inappropriate or delayed treatment of the patient, which in some cases can be fatal. This article discusses two cases of misdiagnosis and inappropriate treatment of patients in the clinical practice that were subjected to forensic expertise.

Keywords: Gunshot wounds; Clinical forensic medicine; Misdiagnose

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