Aspects médico-judiciaires de la prise en charge d'un décès en mer par le SMUR maritime

All deaths must be certified by a doctor. Certification is not limited to a simple report, the doctor is required to ensure that no third parties were involved in the process that led to the death. If in doubt, he should check the “medico-legal obstacle preventing interment” box, thus enabling the judicial authorities to take the necessary steps to confirm or discount such doubts. Pre-hospital medicine makes the medical procedure of certification difficult, particularly for rescue operations carried out at sea. We reviewed all the data concerning operations involving deaths handled by the maritime SMUR of Lanvéoc Poulmic since 2009. This review revealed significant differences in practices, which may be explained by a lack of consensus and the ignorance of maritime law of the crews concerned. We identified and studied the specificities of this aspect of the handling of deaths where such operations are carried out at sea, from both a medical and legal standpoint. We then brought together the various parties concerned in order to draw up a consensual protocol for the handling of the “medico-legal obstacle” at sea. It would be useful to be able to test this protocol with the aim, if it proves to be operational, to circulate it and make it available to all Maritime SMUR in France.