scholarly journals Forensic psychiatry determination of mental capacity

2011 ◽  
Vol 139 (7-8) ◽  
pp. 548-554
Author(s):  
Aleksandar Jovanovic ◽  
Srdjan Milovanovic ◽  
Miroslava Jasovic-Gasic
Keyword(s):  
Informed Consent ◽  
Forensic Psychiatry ◽  
Medical Data ◽  
Mental Capacity ◽  
Social Significance ◽  
Undue Influence ◽  
Basic Principles ◽  
Legal Implications ◽  
Testamentary Capacity

Forensic psychiatry determination is, ordered by a court, the analysis and interpretation of medical facts with important legal implications. In that sense, psychiatrists (or neuropsychiatrists), apart from their professional expertise, must be familiar with legal, economical and social significance of medical data, so that their forensic reports are clear and useful in the context of legal procedure. This review deals with forensic psychiatry aspects of mental capacity. In the introduction of the article, the explanation of relevant concepts such as mental capacity, contractual and testamentary capacity, informed consent, undue influence and forensic determination in light of Serbian statutory law is presented. Further, the authors present basic principles of making forensic reports on mental capacity as well as contractual and testamentary capacity, and informed consent for eventual medical examination and treatment.

Geriatric Forensic Report Writing

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sherif Soliman ◽  
Phillip J. Resnick
Keyword(s):  
The Elderly ◽  
Decision Makers ◽  
Undue Influence ◽  
Geriatric Population ◽  
Basic Principles ◽  
Report Writing ◽  
Testamentary Capacity ◽  
Psychiatric Expertise ◽  
Forensic Psychiatric ◽  
Psychiatric Issues

As the population ages, expertise in addressing forensic psychiatric issues that arise in the geriatric population is becoming increasingly important. These include the need for guardianship, contractual capacity, testamentary capacity (capacity to make a will), and undue influence. Legal decision-makers frequently rely on psychiatric expertise. The geriatric-forensic psychiatric report is a key part of communication between the medical and legal professions. Often the report is the doctor’s only opportunity to communicate his or her opinion, since the vast majority of cases do not go to trial. This chapter focuses on planning, writing, and editing forensic psychiatric reports regarding geriatric issues. Basic principles of writing for a legal audience are discussed and how these principles apply to forensic psychiatric reports involving the elderly. The chapter offers recommendations for each stage of the writing process and discusses common pitfalls in writing forensic reports.

scholarly journals Susceptibility to Undue Influence: The Role of the Medical Expert in Estate Litigation: Susceptibilité à une Influence Indue : Le Rôle de L’expert Médical Dans un Litige Successoral

2021 ◽  
pp. 070674372110206
Author(s):  
Nathan Herrmann ◽  
Kimberly A. Whaley ◽  
Deidre J. Herbert ◽  
Kenneth I. Shulman
Keyword(s):  
Medical Literature ◽  
Psychiatric Symptoms ◽  
Relevant Information ◽  
Historical Background ◽  
Medical Documentation ◽  
Medical Expert ◽  
Undue Influence ◽  
Legal Perspective ◽  
Testamentary Capacity

Objectives: Medical experts are increasingly asked to assist the courts with Will challenges based on the determination of testamentary capacity and potential undue influence. Unlike testamentary capacity, the determination of undue influence has been relatively neglected in the medical literature. We aim to improve the understanding of the medical expert role in providing the courts with an opinion on susceptibility to undue influence in estate litigation. Method: Medical experts with experience in the assessment of testamentary capacity and susceptibility to undue influence collaborated with experienced estate litigators. The medical literature on undue influence was reviewed and integrated. The lawyers provided a historical background and a legal perspective on undue influence in estate litigation and the medical experts provided a clinical perspective on the determination of susceptibility to undue influence. Together, they provided recommendations for how the medical expert could best assist the court. Results: Susceptibility to undue influence is frequently used in estate litigation to challenge the validity of Wills and is defined as subversion of the testator’s free will by an influencer, resulting in changes to the distribution of the estate. While a determination of undue influence includes the documentation of indicia or suspicious circumstances under which the Will was drafted and executed, medical experts should focus primarily on the susceptibility of the testator to undue influence. This susceptibility should be based on a consideration of cognitive function, psychiatric symptoms, physical and behavioural function, with evidence derived from the medical documentation, the medical examination, and the history. Conclusions: The determination of undue influence is a legal one, but medical experts can help the court achieve the most informed legal decision by providing relevant information on clinical issues that may impact the testator’s susceptibility to undue influence.

Freedom to negotiate: a proposal extricating ‘capacity’ from ‘consent’

2017 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 58-76 ◽  
Author(s):  
Liz Brosnan ◽  
Eilionóir Flynn
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Informed Consent ◽  
Mental Capacity ◽  
Feminist Scholarship ◽  
Undue Influence ◽  
Legal Personhood ◽  
Perspective Drawing ◽  
Valid Consent ◽  
Validity Criteria ◽  
Human Rights Standards

AbstractIn this paper, we seek to radically reframe the legal construct of consent from a disability perspective. Drawing on feminist scholarship and human rights standards around ‘free and informed consent’, we apply a concept of freedom to negotiate to laws regulating both consent to sex and medical treatment – key areas in which the legal agency of people with disabilities (especially people with cognitive disabilities) is routinely denied, restricted or ignored. We set out the essential ingredients for reframing consent: namely, legal personhood, freedom to negotiate and understanding. We also outline conditions (i.e. coercion, undue influence and power imbalances) that impede valid consent. This represents a first attempt to move beyond labelling adults with certain disabilities as lacking the ‘mental capacity’ necessary to give valid consent – in order to explore in more depth particular expressions of consent or refusal and seek new validity criteria, beyond the label of ‘mental incapacity’.

INFLUENCE OF OFFICE BLEACHING SYSTEMS ON THE RESISTANCE OF HARD TOOTH TISSUES

2020 ◽  
pp. 119-125
Author(s):  
Magsumova O.A. ◽  
Postnikov M.A. ◽  
Ryskina E.A. ◽  
Tkach T.M. ◽  
Polkanova V.A.
Keyword(s):  
Informed Consent ◽  
Oral Fluid ◽  
Personal Data ◽  
Acid Resistance ◽  
Non Invasive ◽  
Hard Tissues ◽  
Voluntary Informed Consent

One of the non-invasive methods for treating discoloration of hard tooth tissues is teeth whitening. The aim of this work is to assess the dynamics of changes in the acid resistance of enamel and hard tissues of teeth and the rate of its remineralization after the procedure of office teeth whitening. The study involved 123 patients aged 18 to 35 years with discoloration of various origins, with the color of hard tooth tissues on the Vita Classic A2 scale and darker. Before performing the office, teeth whitening procedure, all patients gave their written voluntary informed consent to participate in this study, as well as consent to the processing of personal data. Depending on the chosen method of office teeth whitening, patients were divided into 3 groups. The resistance of hard tooth tissues was judged based on the determination of TOER and CASRE tests. These indicators were determined at various times (5 days before the office teeth whitening procedure, 5 days after it, after 14, 30 days and 6 months). Regardless of the chosen whitening system, the office teeth whitening procedure is accompanied by a decrease in the enamel's resistance to acids and a decrease in the rate of its remineralization. The remineralizing function of oral fluid promotes the positive dynamics of the studied parameters after 14 days and after 30 days values increased due to the appointment of remineralizing therapy to all patients in 2 weeks after the teeth whitening procedure. After 6 months, all patients had high enamel resistance and the rate of its remineralization.

Commentary 1: Research with Persons Under Involuntary Commitment—Ethical Issues Surrounding Competence and Voluntariness

2019 ◽  
Vol 14 (5) ◽  
pp. 475-478
Author(s):  
Matthé Scholten ◽  
Jochen Vollmann
Keyword(s):  
Informed Consent ◽  
Ethical Issues ◽  
Research Participation ◽  
Research Participant ◽  
Involuntary Commitment ◽  
Proxy Consent ◽  
Undue Influence ◽  
Research Participants ◽  
Manic Symptoms ◽  
Prospective Research

In this case commentary, we analyze ethical concerns that were raised in response to an interview with a woman with bipolar disorder who was under involuntary commitment. We focus on competence and voluntariness as two prerequisites for valid informed consent. We recommend that judgments of competence be based on whether prospective research participants sufficiently possess certain decision-making abilities. Based on this functional approach, we argue that manic symptoms need not undermine competence and that, even if we were to assume that the research participant became incompetent during the interview, this would not invalidate her consent retroactively. It would, however, compromise her ability to revoke her consent. We furthermore show that obtaining additional proxy consent for research participation may compromise the autonomy of service users who are competent to consent. Then we turn to the issue of voluntariness. Arguing that neither the great strength nor the external etiology of a desire compromises voluntariness, we propose that the voluntariness of a decision instead depends on whether the decision-maker endorses it on reflection. The researchers disclosed that prospective research participants’ decision about study participation would have no influence on the duration of the commitment or the quality of care. We contend that because of this neither coercion nor undue influence was exerted in the informed consent process. Nevertheless, there is an increased likelihood of perceived coercion and undue influence under conditions of involuntary commitment, and we close by suggesting some safeguards to prevent this.

scholarly journals Channel noise in nerve membranes and lipid bilayers

1975 ◽  
Vol 8 (4) ◽  
pp. 451-506 ◽  
Author(s):  
F Conti ◽  
E. Wanke
Keyword(s):  
Brownian Motion ◽  
Lipid Bilayers ◽  
Fluctuation Phenomena ◽  
Channel Noise ◽  
Fluctuation Analysis ◽  
Electronic Charge ◽  
Basic Principles ◽  
Avogadro’S Number ◽  
Insight Into

The basic principles underlying fluctuation phenomena in thermodynamics have long been understood (for reviews see Kubo, 1957; Kubo, Matsuo & Kazuhiro 1973 Lax, 1960). Classical examples of how fluctuation analysis can provide an insight into the corpuscular nature of matter are the determination of Avogadro's number according to Einstein's theory of Brownian motion (see, e.g. Uhlenbeck & Ornstein, 1930; Kac, 1947) and the evaluation of the electronic charge from the shot noise in vacuum tubes (see Van der Ziel, 1970).

The Mental Capacity Act 2005 best interests test as applied to the elderly – is it fit for purpose?

2018 ◽  
Vol 86 (3) ◽  
pp. 142-146
Author(s):  
Emma M Szelepet
Keyword(s):  
The Elderly ◽  
Mental Capacity ◽  
The Body ◽  
Best Interests ◽  
Human Flourishing ◽  
Undue Influence ◽  
Mental Capacity Act 2005 ◽  
Physical Risk ◽  
Fit For Purpose ◽  
Mental Capacity Act

The Mental Capacity Act 2005 (‘MCA’) sets out a regime which governs the making of decisions for people who lack mental capacity. Acts must be carried out, and decisions made, for such an incapacitated person, based on what is in her best interests (section 4 MCA). In this paper, I consider the body of post-MCA case law which applies the MCA best interests test to decision-making for elderly people, in various contexts. Is the best interests test ‘fit for purpose’ for the vulnerable elderly? The key aims of Parliament in introducing the test seem to have been empowerment, protection and support – and alertness to undue influence – as well as a balance between the objective and subjective viewpoints. Laudable attempts have been made by some judges, applying the MCA, to pay real heed to the patient's wishes and values, and to balance physical risk with welfare and happiness. However, it is not yet clear in my view that the new regime fully achieves Parliament’s aims. Indeed, these aims themselves should be expanded; the law in this area should also promote the significance and value of advanced years and should recognise Aristotle's concept of ‘human flourishing’ in old age. Consideration should be given to amending the MCA, adding guidance specifically for the elderly and also to introducing a Convention of Human Rights for the older person and to creating a new statutory Older Persons’ Commissioner and/or a cabinet-level Minister for Ageing and Older People.

scholarly journals ОЦІНКА ПОКАЗНИКІВ КОМФОРТНОСТІ БІЛИЗНЯНИХ ТРИКОТАЖНИХ ПОЛОТЕН ДЛЯ ЗАНЯТЬ СПОРТОМ

2019 ◽  
Vol 136 (4) ◽  
pp. 106-114
Author(s):  
С. І. Арабулі ◽  
А. Т. Арабулі ◽  
С. С. Ототюк ◽  
В. В. Клочко ◽  
Д. Ю. Черепенко
Keyword(s):  
Physical Properties ◽  
Materials Science ◽  
Experimental Studies ◽  
Basic Principles ◽  
Textile Materials ◽  
Clothing Comfort ◽  
Modern Methods

Determination  of  comfort properties  of  knitted  underwear for  sports and  comparison  of traditional and innovative underwear for thermal underwear. Methodology.  The  article  provides  an  analysis  of  the  modern  range  of  textile  materials  for underwear, analyzes the latest developments in the design of thermal underwear. The modern methods have been used to determine clothing comfort and physical properties of textile materials. Experimental studies are based on the basic principles of textile materials science.

scholarly journals Causes of death in patients with long outliving period injured in traffic accidents

2002 ◽  
Vol 130 (5-6) ◽  
pp. 149-153 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jelena Micic ◽  
Slobodan Nikolic ◽  
Zoran Mihailovic
Keyword(s):  
Cause Of Death ◽  
Traffic Accidents ◽  
Criminal Responsibility ◽  
Daily Practice ◽  
Medical Data ◽  
Severe Injuries ◽  
Manner Of Death ◽  
Physiological Processes ◽  
Legal Implications ◽  
Initial Injury

As long as a direct chain of events can be traced from the injury to the death, then the initial injury must be considered to be the basic cause of death, and this fact may have profound legal implications for both civil compensation and criminal responsibility. Some of the most difficult problems in forensic pathology concern deaths from which posttraumatic complications are disputed as being fatal causative factors. The agony and dying are irreversible dynamic patho-physiological processes. By autopsy only the morphological consequences of these processes could be noted by dissector. The dynamics of dying, direct correlation between initial injury and death, as well as appearance and development of complications provoked by trauma could be established only by clinical medical data. Therefore medical clinical data are critical for forensic pathologists and for solving the problems about the mode and manner of death in cases with long outliving period. Microscopical findings have only academic and scientific importance and are less useful in daily practice. The authors suggest that all complications of injury must be generally involved in autopsy reports, and all severe injuries should separately be registrated both in medical data and autopsy reports. The finding of cause of death must include all observed severe injuries and not only one of the most severe injuries and its complications.

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