Questionable traumatic deaths and their assessment

It is often difficult to assess cases in which the circumstances strongly indicate traumatic cause of death, while the autopsy reveals no life-threatening injuries. Such cases can be divided into three groups: 1) death explained by heart disease and emotional stress and/or physical exertion; 2) deaths by suspected traumatic vagal inhibition in which another cause of death is found or the cause of death remains obscure, sometimes depending on incomplete postmortem investigation; and 3) death established by autopsy, but difficult to ascertain if there is a connection between the cause of death and the trauma.