Problematic aspects of the identification of the dead bodies of aviation crash victims in Poland. The role of the forensic medicine expert in an external examination group and a Disaster Victim Identification (DVI) team

Abstract

This article deals with the problematic aspects relating to aviation crash victim identification in Poland and the specific nature of participation of a forensic medicine expert in activities undertaken as part of an external examination group and a Disaster Victim Identification (DVI) team. It describes in a concise manner the course of the process of identification of the victims’ bodies, beginning with the actions undertaken at the incident site and ending with the public prosecutor’s decision to allow for the interment of dead bodies or human remains. It presents a catalogue of identification methods by grouping them from the most credible ones to the ones that merely suggest the victim’s identity. It concisely describes the tasks faced by the forensic pathologist, who plays a double role at a crash site, i.e. as a member of an external examination group and of a DVI team.

Keywords

• forensic medicine expert
• external examination of dead bodies
• incident site visual inspection
• aviation crash
• dvi team.