frostbite expert is veterinarian

[RoySwkr]

Some of the more bored NH readers may have been following the case of Gary Dodds, who disappeared after an auto accident and was found the next day huddled under a pile of leaves across a river. Prosecutors say he was not outside the whole time, but just soaked his feet in ice water to fake cold injuries.

One prosecution witness was noted frostbite expert Dr. Murray Hamlet, but the defense claims that Dr. Hamlet being a veterinarian is not qualified to treat human patients. I'll bet most MA long-time winter hikers know somebody who's been to one of his lectures.
http://www.cmonitor.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080208/NEWS01/802080359

 

[DougPaul]

One prosecution witness was noted frostbite expert Dr. Murray Hamlet, but the defense claims that Dr. Hamlet being a veterinarian is not qualified to treat human patients. I'll bet most MA long-time winter hikers know somebody who's been to one of his lectures.
http://www.cmonitor.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080208/NEWS01/802080359

He started out the lectures that I attended by announcing that he is a veterinarian. He then went into how hard it is to do experiments on pigs...

No matter what it says on his shingle, he knows quite a lot about how humans respond to the cold. If you ever get a chance to attend one of his lectures, don't miss it--he is both very entertaining and very informative.

Doug

 

[chipc]

but the defense claims that Dr. Hamlet being a veterinarian is not qualified to treat human patients. [/url]

Much of what we know about human physiology and response to stress comes from studies done on other mammalian species. If you do a PubMed (search Hamlet MP) you'll see that Hamlet has published a lot in the area of frostbite and hypothermia. I'm guessing that he worked for the military not just because his work was relevant to non-human animals.


btw I have no connection with Hamlet except for this thread.

 

[Davehiker]

Dr. Murray Hamlet retired a few years ago after a career at the Army Soldier Systems Center in Natick, Mass. (also known as the Natick Labs) which supports all the US military services. They state "Everything the Soldier wears, carries and consumes is either designed, developed or integrated here."

He is indeed an expert in humans' adaption to cold weather. He has spoken through the years at many EMS and other medical conferences and is a very entertaining speaker with an incredible slideshow. As Doug says, If you get a chance to hear him, go for it.

 

[dr_wu002]

This reminds me of William Faulkner's As I Lay Dying where after Cash Bundren re-breaks his leg the family lets "Unkle" Billy Varner, who was a "horse doctor" of some sorts, treat him to which one of Faulkner's characters comments: "...[a] man aint so different from a horse or a mule, come long come short, except a mule or a horse has got a little more sense."

Eventually, when this treatment doesn't work, Anse (Cash's father) buys cement and has it poured on Cash's leg which almost falls off when the cement sets. Eventually they find Dr. Peabody to help, to which he makes one of the more hilariously memorable quotes in the novel: "I reckon a man in a tight might let Bill Varner patch him up like a damn mule, but I be damned if the man that'd let Anse Bundren treat him with raw cement aint got more spare legs than I have."

So, the moral is -- a veterinarian is ok, just don't let Anse Bundren treat your frostbite with cement.

-Dr. Wu

 

[RoySwkr]

Apparently the jury thought the defendant was a jacka** and hence accepted Dr. Hamlet's diagnosis

Remember to pay your S&R bills - the defendant was offered a plea deal to pay for S&R, apologize, and admit he left the scene of the accident, but he unaccountably declined it. After a 3-week trial with 100 witnesses he will almost surely go to jail.

http://www.cmonitor.com/apps/pbcs.d...1/FRONTPAGE/802210392&SearchID=73309446373178

 

[KayakDan]

Dr. Murray Hamlet does indeed know his stuff. I attended a seminar several years ago for our kayaking club. It was a small group gathered and we had a lot of 1 on 1 discussion with him. The work at the Natick lab is amazing.

 

[RoySwkr]

Dodds has been sentenced to a longer jail term than the prosecution requested, the judge cited the defense badgering of law enforcement witnesses as unacceptible.

For the next peculiar turn to this case, apparently it will be featured in Backpacker magazine although Dodds wasn't backpacking or even hiking.
http://www.cmonitor.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080401/FRONTPAGE/804010383

 

[dug]

Dodds has been sentenced to a longer jail term than the prosecution requested, the judge cited the defense badgering of law enforcement witnesses as unacceptible.

For the next peculiar turn to this case, apparently it will be featured in Backpacker magazine although Dodds wasn't backpacking or even hiking.
http://www.cmonitor.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080401/FRONTPAGE/804010383

No, but he was camping