Pain and suffering ... and unconsciousness

Medical examiners and coroners, in their compassion for survivors, often certify the interval between injury and death as "instantaneous" only to be confronted in legal proceedings, especially civil proceedings, with the need to detail the actual events and time required to die or to lose consciousness. A review of "pain and suffering" and consciousness is undertaken here and an estimate of actual time to unconsciousness is presented. This clinical pathologic correlation may assist in the scientific determination of the duration of pain and suffering.