Neonatologists, gynecologists, pathologists, and other specialists involved in neonaticide cases may face medicolegal issues, which can be avoided by conducting accurate investigations. This article summarizes various aspects of the medical and non-medical investigations of neonaticide. The emergency department of a neonatology facility may receive bodies of dead or seriously injured neonates. The doctors who attend such cases must know how to ensure their legal safety as negligence, treatment error, documentation, or investigational failure may be held against them.
Given the high emotional involvement, the relatives of patients may accuse the doctor of the death of a neonate. Neonaticide is killing an infant within the first month of life. Neonaticide cases can be daunting for doctors, pathologists, and medicolegal personnel. Such cases often involve hiding the victim’s body, making…
