Journal Article

Medico-legal assessment of personal damage in older people: report from a multidisciplinary consensus conference

Ferrara, Nicola, Volpato Stefano, ti, Paola, Gianniti Pasquale, Marozzi Franco, Frigiolini Francesca, Lunardelli, Maria Lia, Albertini, Sandra, Portas Margherita, Zoja Riccardo, Feola Alessandro, Domenici Ranieri, De, Stefano Francesco, Castellani, Gloria Luigia, Cerquetti Ilaria, Lovato Alessandro, Bolcato Matteo, Polo, Lorenzo, Dell’Erba Alessandro, De Leo Domenico, De, Nicolò Andrea, Corbi Graziamaria, Marengoni Alessandra, Martelloni Massimo, Mecocci Patrizia, Vignatelli Luca, Fedeli Piergiorgio, Ingravallo Francesca, Scorretti Carlo, Molinelli, Andrea, Camerlingo, Maria, Di, Giulio Paola, Trabucchi Marco, Iannone Primiano, Rossi, Patrizio, Gili Enrico

2020

Overview

Ageing of the global population represents a challenge for national healthcare systems and healthcare professionals, including medico-legal experts, who assess personal damage in an increasing number of older people. Personal damage evaluation in older people is complex, and the scarcity of evidence is hindering the development of formal guidelines on the subject. The main objectives of the first multidisciplinary Consensus Conference on Medico-Legal Assessment of Personal Damage in Older People were to increase knowledge on the subject and establish standard procedures in this field. The conference, organized according to the guidelines issued by the Italian National Institute of Health (ISS), was held in Bologna (Italy) on June 8, 2019 with the support of national scientific societies, professional organizations, and stakeholders. The Scientific Technical Committee prepared 16 questions on 4 thematic areas: (1) differences in injury outcomes in older people compared to younger people and their relevance in personal damage assessment; (2) pre-existing status reconstruction and evaluation; (3) medico-legal examination procedures; (4) multidimensional assessment and scales. The Scientific Secretariat reviewed relevant literature and documents, rated their quality, and summarized evidence. During conference plenary public sessions, 4 pairs of experts reported on each thematic area. After the last session, a multidisciplinary Jury Panel (15 members) drafted the consensus statements. The present report describes Conference methods and results, including a summary of evidence supporting each statement, and areas requiring further investigation. The methodological recommendations issued during the Conference may be useful in several contexts of damage assessment, or to other medico-legal evaluation fields.

• Publisher: Springer Nature B.V
• Subject: Age differences / Aging / Clinical outcomes / Conferences / Damage assessment / Evaluation / Experts / Guidelines / Health care / Health care industry / Health services / Injuries / Interdisciplinary aspects / Juries / Legal medicine / Medical personnel / Medicolegal aspects / Older people / Population aging / Population genetics / Professional associations / Scarcity / Technical societies