The progression from disaster victim identification (DVI) to disaster victim management (DVM): a necessary evolution

Identificación de víctimas de catástrofes en elcontexto de las ciencias de la información

“…2 Original: "When a disaster occurs that requires professional intervention, a coordinated and considered approach should be adopted rather than ad hoc and unauthorised mobilisation of variably trained individuals and teams that has sometimes occurred in the past [...] and that this will lead to better coordination between disciplines when working together towards the important mutual goals of victim location, preservation, identification and repatriation. Tsokos;Byard, 2012, p. 82). Traducción: Uma catástrofe, quando ocorre, requer requer uma intervenção profissional e coordenada, e deve ser adoptada uma abordagem ponderada, em vez de uma mobilização ad hoc ou não autorizada de indivíduos ou equipas com formação variável que tenham actuado algumas vezes no passado [...] e que isto conduzirá a uma melhor coordenação entre as disciplinas no trabalho conjunto para os objectivos mutuamente importantes de localização, preservação, identificação e repatriamento das vítimas" (Winksog; Tsokos; Byard, 2012, p. 82, traducción editorial).…”

Death scene investigation and autopsy proceedings in identifying the victims of the terror attack on the Breitscheidplatz in Berlin 19th December 2016

“…On the morning of 20th December 2016, an autopsy was performed on the “co-driver”, confirming the fatal gunshot injury to the head. From afternoon of 20th December 2016 to late evening of 22nd December 2016, under the auspices of the Identification Commission of the Federal Criminal Police Office, the autopsies of the remaining 11 deceased (including the three patients who died in-hospital) were performed according to International Standards for the Identification of Victims of Mass Disasters (Disaster Victim Identification [ 4 ]). This included data obtained by post-mortem computed tomography; for example, for dental reconstruction (Fig.…”

Managing the identification of the mortal victims run over by a train in the Castelldefels railway accident (Barcelona)

“…The appropriate management of corpses is one of the crucial aspects of disaster response [2]. The complexity and the repercussions of managing these incidents in conjunction with media coverage the world over [3] has led to DVI evolving into Disaster Victim Management [4]. The central role played by medical examiners in identification, then, has evolved so that they now act as leaders of multidisciplinary teams [5].…”