Purpose: To evaluate the usefulness of studying vital injuries at the sternal head insertion of the sternocleidomastoid muscle in the medico-legal assessment of death by hanging. Materials and Methods: Study material was obtained from eight bodies of people who died from hanging. The control group included as many specimens collected from people who died from traumatic causes other than hanging (precipitation from medium to large heights and traffic accidents). The structures under study were examined histologically with a BX-51 light microscope (Olympus). An analysis of the extravasated erythrocytes was performed by counting the number per mm² in the histologic section on 10 HPF (400×), and Student’s t-test for a comparison of the averages was applied for all parametric values. The authors noted that the key finding, indicative of the subject’s viability at the time of discontinuation, was the presence of recent hemorrhagic infiltrate (in the absence of hemosiderin) at the tendon insertion of the sternocleidomastoid muscle and the proximal part of the muscle itself. Results: All specimens tested were positive for the presence of hemorrhagic infiltrate at the portions tested in a statistically significant manner. In contrast, in the control cases there was no or, where present, no statistically significant (p < 0.05) presence of recent hemorrhagic infiltrate. The limitation of the study is the low number of samples examined. In any case, the results obtained are strongly indicative of the possibility of using this type of forensic pathological investigation in cases where there is a doubt in terms of a differential diagnosis between hanging (suicidal type) and suspension of a corpse in a simulation of hanging.

Average global temperatures continue to trend upward, and this phenomenon is part of the more complex climate change taking place on our planet over the past century. Human health is directly affected by environmental conditions, not only because of communicable diseases that are clearly affected by climate, but also because of the relationship between rising temperatures and increased morbidity for psychiatric diseases. As global temperatures and the number of extreme days increase, so does the risk associated with all those acute illnesses related to these factors. For example, there is a correlation between out-of-hospital cardiac arrest and heat. Then, there are pathologies that recognize excessive heat as the main etiological agent. This is the case with so-called “heat stroke”, a form of hyperthermia accompanied by a systemic inflammatory response, which causes multi-organ dysfunction and sometimes death. Starting with a case that came to their attention of a young man in good general health who died while working unloading fruit crates from a truck, the authors wanted to express some thoughts on the need to adapt the world of work, including work-specific hazards, in order to protect the worker exposed to this “new risk” and develop multidisciplinary adaptation strategies that incorporate climatology, indoor/building environments, energy use, regulatory perfection of work and human thermal comfort.

Falls are the most frequent adverse events recorded in healthcare facilities. By employing a multifaceted strategy to ensure prevention interventions that are specific to the patient type and environmental risk management, risk factor evaluation may help to reduce falls in the hospital setting. Patient falls are one of the main causes of lawsuits against hospitals, which has led to the development of validated instruments that are beneficial in treating the patient after the incident and effective in minimizing the frequency of falls. The aim of our study is to evaluate compensation claims asserting healthcare culpability in situations where a patient fell in a hospital setting. The collected data relate to judgments issued in Italy until December 2022 regarding 30 episodes of falls that occurred between 2003 and 2018. Our research revealed that approximately 50% of Italian healthcare organizations lose the case in court when a patient falls in a hospital setting and dies or is injured. In half of these cases, the failure of the medical staff to use protective equipment against falls is what led to the court’s acceptance of the compensation claim. In order to improve the quality of healthcare services, fall prevention techniques must continue to be implemented.

The COVID-19 pandemic caused an increasing number of corporate layoffs and downsizing, as well as causing many employees to be absent due to illness, with inevitable consequences on the health of active workers both from a physical point of view, due to the need to make up for staff and organizational shortages, and from a mental point of view, due to the inevitable consequences related to the uncertainty of the social context. This context has certainly caused an increase in work-related stress, which is the pathological outcome of a process that affects workers who are subjected to excessive (emotional-relational or high or low or inadequate activity) or improper work loads. The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the main aspects of this issue, through the analysis proposed by two case reports, both of which occurred during the COVID-19 pandemic, in which occupational stress emerged as an etiological agent in the determinism of death.

Thyroid surgeries can often lead to operative complications, sometimes with consequences on the patient’s health. This often leads to claims for compensation but the assessments of consultants and judges are not always objective. Based on these considerations, the authors analyzed forty-seven sentences issued between 2013 and 2022 regarding claims of alleged medical malpractice. This analysis aims to examine the cases presented in the sentences and the evaluations proposed by the judges to offer ideas for objective evaluation by the legislation in force in Italy.