Death by accidental hypothermiaand expert assessment of alcohol intoxication

Mortality rate due to acute accidental hypothermia in the structure of violent death in various regions of Russia ranges from 1.14 to 7.4%. The most frequent deaths occurred in the 41-50 age group - the most able-bodied part of the population, and men accounted for about 75% of the dead. The work is aimed at developing and justifying the forensic criteria for assessing the level of alcohol intoxication in the cases of death by hypothermia on the basis studying the concentration of ethanol in various biological matrices, taking into account the peculiarities of its metabolism. We have developed a method of objective assessment of the level of alcohol intoxication in victims of hypothermia, and successfully tested it on practical forensic medical material, it involve the following steps: establishing the type of hypothermia, the stage of alcohol intoxication at the moment of death, and mandatory toxicological examination.