Mason J K
Ann Acad Med Singap. 1984 Jan;13(1):12-5.
It is appreciated that there are national and jurisdictional variations in regard to post-mortem dissections following accidental death. The purpose of this paper is to plead that, since there will be nationals of many states involved in an aircraft disaster, there should be a uniform system of forensic investigation on a world wide basis. The justification for this recommendation is illustrated through the investigation of accident causes and through the solution of the many problems relating to the settlement of probate which arise in accidental death. The causes of accidents which may be discovered by autopsy include crew incapacitation and criminality of all types. The emergency status may also be revealed and the type of accident, particularly whether in a controlled or uncontrolled phase, may become clear. The medico-legal problems to be resolved include those concerning payment of insurance policies, including the degree of life expectancy, and especially the disposal of estates when members of a family apparently die together. The resulting payments to beneficiaries may be quite different depending on the quality of the autopsy. These investigations are complementary to, and do not interfere with, the identification process but they are time consuming and expensive.
需要认识到，在意外死亡后的尸体解剖方面存在国家和司法管辖权的差异。本文的目的是主张，鉴于飞机灾难会涉及许多国家的公民，应该在全球范围内建立统一的法医调查系统。通过对事故原因的调查以及解决意外死亡中出现的与遗嘱认证相关的诸多问题，说明了这一建议的合理性。通过尸检可能发现的事故原因包括机组人员丧失行为能力和各类犯罪行为。紧急状态也可能被揭示出来，事故类型，尤其是处于受控阶段还是非受控阶段，可能会变得清晰。有待解决的法医学问题包括与保险单赔付相关的问题，包括预期寿命的程度，特别是当家庭成员显然同时死亡时财产的处置问题。根据尸检的质量，向受益人的最终赔付可能会有很大差异。这些调查是对身份识别过程的补充，并不干扰该过程，但它们既耗时又昂贵。
