"Definition of Suspicious Death"

Definition:
A death is labeled suspicious:

• When a crime is involved
• Some cases when an accident has occurred
• When the death escapes a medical prognosis
• When a person dies die unexpectedly under medical care
• When they die because of trauma in a medical setting

Estimates are that 20 percent of people die in suspicious circumstances.

Post-mortems or autopsy examinations are performed at the request of the authorities in cases of unexplained and suspicious death and where death was not attended by a physician.

Sources:
Timmermans S. 2006. Introduction: Brokering Suspicious Deaths. In Postmortem: How Medical Examiners Explain Suspicious Deaths. Excerpt available at: http://www.press.uchicago.edu/Misc/Chicago/803988.html
DeSpelder LA. Srickland AL. 2005. The Last Dance: Encountering Death and Dying. 7th Edition. New York, N.Y.: McGraw Hill.