From
Forensic Magazine:
With several high profile cases in the news, the focus has turned on increased toxicology processing delays. Michael Jackson’s and other high profile cases might get to cut in line, but the tests still take time—especially when the tests involve multiple substances.
Labs around the country are getting pressure to reduce their toxicology backlogs, but you can’t rush the process. While toxicology results can reveal critical clues about cause of death they can take months to complete, even if the dead received pop-icon status in life.
“Fluid specimens change hands at least three or four times, as different investigators with different pieces of lab equipment conduct different types of tests,” Medical Examiner Dr. Karl E. Williams told the Pittsburg Post-Gazette. “Results must be interpreted and considered in the context of a person's medical history.”
Investigations are especially difficult if multiple drugs are detected, in which case toxicologists must determine the levels of each drug present in the body and whether they could have combined in a detrimental way.
At any given time a
toxicology lab will have hundreds of tests in various stages, but the tests take time and most labs are experiencing backlogs. High profile cases, like Michel Jackson’s are usually bumped to the front of the line, and cases can get a rush if they involve a live subject or are going to court, but even Jackson’s results took weeks. To make matters worse, toxicologists are called out of the lab to testify in court, making the backlogs grow.
California conducted a study several years ago on toxicology processing times in the Orange County Lab trying to determine ways to reduce processing time from eight to four weeks and determined that more research was needed to resolve the problem.
In Michigan, they have addressed the backlog by launching the Video Testimony Pilot Project. This has reduced the time lost testifying in court by allowing analysts to testify remotely through streaming video.
After a full year of operation, the State Police Forensic Science Laboratory reports that the alcohol backlog decreased to approximately 150–200 cases from a high of 300 cases, with the turnaround time reduced to 5 days, from a high of 14 days. The toxicology (drug) backlog decreased to approximately 600 cases from a high of 1,000 cases, with the turnaround time was at 60 days, from a high of 120 days.
Like most forensic laboratories, toxicology labs are facing budget, personnel, and resource cuts and yet, with an increased reliance on technology, victims, juries, and the public demand that more tests be run. And if you’re Michael Jackson, you’d better run them twice.