Episode 4 of ADJUSTED, a claims podcast features Dr. Michael Baden, forensic pathologist. In this episode, co-hosts Greg Hamlin and Claire Muselman discuss factors that contribute to determining cause of death.
Dr. Michael Baden is the former Chief Medical Examiner of New York City and past Co-Director of the New York State Police Medico-Legal Investigations Unit. He received a B.S. Degree from the City College of New York and an M.D. Degree from New York University School of Medicine. He trained in internal medicine and pathology at Bellevue Hospital Medical Center where he was an intern, resident, and Chief Resident.
He has been a medical examiner for forty-five years and has performed more than 20,000 autopsies. He has held professorial teaching appointments at Albert Einstein Medical School, Albany Medical College, New York University School of Medicine, New York Law School and John Jay College of Criminal Justice. He has been a consultant to the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Veteran’s Administration, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearm’s, Drug Enforcement Agency and the United States Department of Justice.
In addition to the numerous high-profile cases Dr. Baden has examined and investigated, he has also taught homicide courses for police, judges, attorneys, and physicians all over the globe. Dr. Baden has also served as President of the Society of Medical Jurisprudence and Vice President of the American Academy of Forensic Science. He was the host of the HBO “Autopsy” series for thirteen years, which demonstrated how the various forensic sciences assist in solving crimes and was a consultant for the “Crossing Jordan” television series. He has been author or co-author of more than 80 professional articles and books on aspects of forensic medicine and two popular non-fiction books “Unnatural Death, Confessions of a Medical Examiner” and “Dead Reckoning, the New Science of Catching Killers.” He is also the author, with his wife, attorney Linda Kenney Baden, of two recent forensic thrillers, “Remains Silent” and “Skeleton Justice.” He is the Forensic Science Contributor for FOX News Channel and is a reviewer for the New England Journal of Medicine.
Causation
INVESTIGATE THE MECHANISM OF INJURY: Trust your gut! If it feels off, take a closer look and consider the question of “how” an injury occurred. Take a closer look, secure the medical records and review the detail how the injury took place. What was communicated to the medical provider? Does this make logical sense with the accident description?
EXAMINE ALL THINGS MEDICAL:
- Medical diagnosis: Secure the medical records as soon as possible immediately following the work injury. Where did the injured worker receive medical treatment post-injury? Determine where medical care was secured and the names of the medical providers who rendered treatment in order to secure factual information surrounding the injury.
- Medical providers: Do the medical providers who rendered treatment have a background in occupational injuries? Do they understand causation and return-to-work? It is important to determine if further education is needed for the physicians to understand workers’ compensation issues.
- Secure prior medical records: Do comorbid conditions exist? Are their prior injures to the current body part? Are their prior injuries to nearby body locations which lead to believe the injury may not be new?
REVIEW ALL DIAGNOSTIC TESTS AND STUDIES: Reviewing the reports from medical studies can provide insight into the origin of an injury and can help medical providers establish a timeline. Examples of this include injuries to the upper extremities, shoulder areas and cervical spine. A review of EMGs, CT scans and MRI can narrow the point of injury and its origin.
SECURE ALL RELEVANT INFORMATION: Job insights, video from the injury, witness statements. Record someone doing the job so the treating physician can review the actual tasks the injured worker performs on a regular basis and/or provide a thorough, detailed job description.
PAY ATTENTION TO PSYCHOSOCIAL ISSUES: What else is going on in the injured worker’s life? When did they start working for the company? Are there other matters that could be affiliated with the injury? Is this a long-time employee or a new hire? What other issues could be going on at work? At home? Added stressors?
From the Sound Booth
With each episode recap, you can find exclusive bits of fun in this portion of the blog, From the Sound Booth. These golden nuggets come from the recording studio of ADJUSTED and help listeners get to know our co-hosts, hosts, and the Berkley teams a bit more along the way…
A House Divided
Although teammates on ADJUSTED, co-hosts Greg and Claire are Big Ten rivals on the field. Claire attended Iowa University where she received her Bachelors in Political Science. Greg attended Indiana where he received his Bachelors in Criminal Justice. Coming off a big Indiana basketball win last Thursday, Greg had bragging rights in the sound booth this week!
