Valoración médico legal de las lesiones y su relación con el marco jurídico.

Abstract

Introduction: Lesionology is a branch of forensic medicine that is responsible for the study of injuries, which can cause anything from temporary to total disability, causing functional changes, mental alterations, or even death. According to the World Health Organization (WHO) in 2022, it detailed that 12,000 people die due to injuries every day. Ecuador in 2023, with a total of 8,004 events, was the most violent country in Latin America with a homicide rate of 47.25 per 100,000 inhabitants. Objective: Describe the medical-legal assessment of injuries and its relationship with the legal framework through a review of the literature for help in the judicial system. Development: Historically, the assessment of bodily damage began in the year 2,050 BC. In medico-legal terms, injuries correspond to the alteration of the morphology or function of structures, organs, body segments and systems by a third party or an agent. external. Accurate description and recording of injuries guides the cause, the circumstances of their occurrence, or the aggressor. Conclusion: The medico-legal assessment of bodily harm consists of proving with scientific criteria that an injury was caused by a specific event. In Ecuador, the Comprehensive Organic Penal Code regulates penalties for different types of injuries, depending on the severity, the length of disability, which refers to the time necessary for an injury to be repaired, and the organic or functional sequelae they produce.