When Information Can Save Lives: the Duty to Warn Relatives About Sudden Cardiac Death and Environmental Risks

Overview

Journal Hastings Cent Rep

Specialty Medical Ethics

Date 2010 Jun 16

PMID 20545107

Citations 7

Authors

Bernice Elger

Katarzyna Michaud

Patrice Mangin

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

In certain cases of sudden death, forensic experts may discover during an investigation or autopsy that family members of the deceased are also at risk of harm-from genetic disease, for instance. But do they have a duty to warn them? Looking at similar duties of physicians and researchers to warn third parties of risk suggests they do.

Citing Articles

New Frontiers and Old Challenges: How to Manage Incidental Findings When Forensic Diagnosis Goes Beyond.

Caenazzo L, Tozzo P, Dierickx K Diagnostics (Basel). 2020; 10(9).

PMID: 32971910 PMC: 7555971. DOI: 10.3390/diagnostics10090731.

Sudden death due to catecholaminergic polymorphic ventricular tachycardia following negative stress-test outcome: genetics and clinical implications.

DOvidio C, Carnevale A, Grassi V, Rosato E, Del Olmo B, Coll M Forensic Sci Med Pathol. 2017; 13(2):217-225.

PMID: 28405885 DOI: 10.1007/s12024-017-9862-9.

Medico-legal perspectives on sudden cardiac death in young athletes.

Oliva A, Grassi V, Campuzano O, Brion M, Arena V, Partemi S Int J Legal Med. 2016; 131(2):393-409.

PMID: 27654714 DOI: 10.1007/s00414-016-1452-y.

The ethics of conducting molecular autopsies in cases of sudden death in the young.

McGuire A, Moore Q, Majumder M, Walkiewicz M, Eng C, Belmont J Genome Res. 2016; 26(9):1165-9.

PMID: 27412853 PMC: 5052042. DOI: 10.1101/gr.192401.115.

Is there a duty to recontact in light of new genetic technologies? A systematic review of the literature.

Otten E, Plantinga M, Birnie E, Verkerk M, Lucassen A, Ranchor A Genet Med. 2014; 17(8):668-78.

PMID: 25503495 DOI: 10.1038/gim.2014.173.