Photographing Evidence of Injuries
A photograph of injuries on a victim can be the most reliable and detailed record of a crime. It can show the court the extent of the damage. It can corroborate the victim’s account. It accompanies and give colour to medical reports, which are otherwise dull and descriptive.
Keep your own record of photographs. Often, doctors record injuries wrongly or miss out important details especially when in a rush to examine the victim and report the findings. Also, victims may hide their injuries due to distrust or embarrassment. With your record of photographs, you can check that expert medical reports are accurate and complete.
Few tips:
> Some injuries fade quickly (in fact very quickly) over time. So take photographs as soon as you can.
> Other injuries show up with time. For example, bruises appear several days after an assault. The size, shape and colour of injuries will also change with time and the healing process. They may look more gruesome over time or develop into an infection. So, photograph the victim at regular intervals throughout the healing process.
> Photograph old injuries (from past violence) to show a history of abuse.
> Photograph new injuries which have healed to show residual scarring (you can increase your claim for compensation if there is residual scarring).
> Don’t file all the photographs as evidence; choose the most gruesome ones.
Get your copy of a Tool on Photographing Evidence of Injuries here.