Impact of Alleged Abuse in Medical Assault Accusations?

[nyxelestia]

("Medical assault" meaning inducing a severe and sudden downturn in a man's pre-existing but manageable cancer; I don't know how else to describe this kind of attack.)

Setting: Modern day California (specifically, the fictional Beacon Hills, as this is Teen Wolf fanfic)

Searched: I'm not really sure how to search for answers to any of this.

Comments

[lilacsigil]

How did teenagers induce a downturn in someone's cancer diagnosis? Did they withhold treatment or medication from him? Cancer diagnosis is still an inexact science, so someone getting suddenly worse isn't in itself suspicious at all.

[nyxelestia]

They did it using supernatural means. His cancer was already diagnosed by that point, and he was on a medicine regimen to handle it/manage the symptoms, since apparently it was incurable. The man coerced a werewolf into giving him the Bite/trying to turn him into a werewolf, but unbeknownst to him, the teenagers had switched out some of his regular medicine for pills will with an enchanted herb that is toxic to werewolves, leading to him not only NOT turning, but his existing condition getting worse (and it was a medical mystery, since he also started spewing black blood from most of his orfices).

[lilacsigil]

So they're confessing to changing his medication so that he got sicker? That would be checked by toxicology, and if that brings up anything relevant, they could be charged with assault and possibly murder. If it doesn't theft of prescription medication (of the original medication) would still apply.

[nyxelestia]

That makes sense. Thank you! :)

[lilyeyes]

Is Beacon Hills actually an incorporated city? If it is, you would have the city police as the first law enforcement - county sheriff handles unincorporated areas and coroner's functions. So, in a city, the police would respond to a death (or any other crime) first, then request the coroner when they have completed their initial investigation. The coroner/deputy responds for the body, adds their own investigation notes, and then takes the body to the morgue for the medical examiner to determine cause of death. That is reported separately from the police report, although the police would get a copy of the report. Either one could call in the FBI if they had reasonable suspicions that it would fall under the FBI's jurisdiction, but each entity would call them in for their separate part of the investigation. The FBI could be consulted at any time by either police or sheriff's office

[nyxelestia]

Beacon Hills' status is never clearly stated in the show, but since the Sheriff is usually the one dealing with crimes first, I would guess that means it's unincorporated

[lilyeyes]

Generally speaking, FBI doesn't get involved in local crimes unless requested. Unless you have an exceptionally curious agent, who overhears enough to believe the teens aren't just BSing, then the FBI isn't going to get involved. Normally, unless the officers know the teens personally or are school resource officers, they may dismiss the claims as untrue.

However, in California, we have mandated reporters (medical personnel, counselors, public safety personnel, etc) who are required to report allegations of abuse. Anyone in these positions would have to report on these claims if the teenagers tell them about them.

If the teens make suspicious statements too many times, then they will bring suspicion on themselves and an investigation may be launched.

Make sense?

[nyxelestia]

That makes sense. It kind of looks more and more like trying to use this as a retroactive storyline isn't going to work, which leads to a new question for the story line alternative: the abuse being reported "at the time".

If the teenagers claim/report abuse at the time (without trying to claim they had anything to do with the man's sudden downturn in health at the time), during the same weekend the man's health takes an abrupt downturn, how would that be handled? Especially if there is no actual evidence of it, but half a dozen teenagers claiming they were victimized (and another teenager who has evidence that security footage from the school was being erased by this man)?

[marycatelli]

Why is the FBI interested in a state crime?

[nyxelestia]

They initially came into town as part of a task force to handle what seems to be multiple serial killers in one town in less than a year. They stick around as the case just gets more and more complicated, and right now, the FBI agent in charge is trying to determine if/how the recently murdered man was involved in all this, if at all.