In the United States (US), Medical Examiners and Coroners (ME/Cs) have the legal authority for the management of mass fatality incidents (MFI). Yet, preparedness and operational capabilities in this sector remain largely unknown Both large-scale fatality disasters, as well as smaller scale incidents with multiple fatalities are referred to as “mass fatality incidents” (MFI). Generally,…

Fear is the biggest obstacle to your success and the most controllable  by you . In nearly every situation fear is a state of mind beyond the reality. More often than not,  your fear is based from a feeling that you might fail, or that your ego or pride might be adversely effected.  A good…

A few years ago, the third Monday in January was labeled Blue Monday by many experts in the mental health field. But no matter what day of the week it occurs on, Anita Agers Brooks, common trauma expert, and author of Getting Through What You Can’t Get Over, believes January 21st is a good barometer…

How often do you quit when things get tough? Would you describe yourself as an unshakable optimist? Do you view problems as opportunities or warning signs? How do you view failure and are you making sure that you don’t make the one mistake people make when learning from their mistakes? Things rarely work out the…

Underwater crime scenes present a unique set of obstacles not present in dry land situations.  Many agencies do not have the personnel to conduct adequate underwater investigations. These scene must be worked as dry land scenes in areas of scene control, evidence integrity and collection, chain of custody, and management.  However, these investigators must add…

The Coroner Talk Podcast has excelled  in 2015. We  reached many large goals and surpassed many mile stones.  I give complete credit to you, the listener and supporter of the Coroner Talk community.  In this episode I take a look back to what we have accomplished and a look forward to what’s to come, as well…

Warning: “This episode may be seen as confrontational ! The views expressed in this podcast are 100% the views of its host and producer of the show, and in every way is intended to bring change and viewpoints guiding the current coroner system of the United States. It is not however, intended to discredit any…

Too often we confuse “stress” with “trauma.”  Stress happens, but trauma happens TO you.  Stress is an expected part of life, good or bad, and can be managed by such things as exercise, moderation in habits such as alcohol, deep breathing and even therapy.  Trauma, on the other hand, either runs over you like a…

Toxicology testing is a vital piece of  the post mortem investigative puzzle.  Many investigators confuse the importance of toxicology in cases where no autopsy is being conducted. An even greater danger is submitting fluids for testing but then making an incorrect determination because of the miss-interpretations of the results. To better understand the dangers and…