[BostonCard]

Right.  In fact there is an example of the "accident caused by COVID-19"...

There was a story going around a while back (I think I saw it in the Daily Mail, but I may be misremembering) about a roofer who fell off the roof and died from his injuries.  He was found to have COVID-19 post-mortem, and was declared by the coroner to be a COVID-19 death.  The Daily Mail's headline (or whoever it was who reported the story) suggested that this was evidence that COVID deaths are being over-reported since this guy clearly died of a injuries sustained from his fall.

However, when you read deeper into the story, it turns out that the guy was sick (because of COVID-19 that day) and his fall was percipitated because he passed out, which was a result of his low oxygen levels due to COVID-19.  Sure, the immediate cause of death was blunt trauma from what we call a "gravitational challenge", but the underlying reason he fell was because of COVID-19; he would not have died but for COVID.  Consequently it is considered a COVID-19 death.

EDIT: Found the article
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article...virus.html
(my recollection of the story was not exactly right, but the main point, which is that death from a fall wound up being attributed to COVID-19 because COVID-19 likely triggered the fall, is correct)

And here is the journal article:
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/ar...88#bib0015

Herein we are reporting the case of a Caucasian male who apparently died in a workplace allegedly by a fall from height and was found to be SARS-CoV-2 positive just prior to the autopsy. The circumstances of his death required a medicolegal investigation.

Gross autopsy findings included minor external injuries and focal subarachnoid hemorrhage together with ribs and sternum fractures resulting from resuscitation attempt. In addition, visceral congestion was noticed, especially visible in lungs. Traumatic findings suitable to explain sudden death were absent. However, lungs histopathology analysis revealed diffuse alveolar damage with massive capillary congestion. Pathology in other organs included myocardial fibrosis, left ventricular hypertrophy, severe generalized atherosclerosis, glomerulosclerosis, focal liver necrosis, liver microabscesses and intrahepatal cholestasis. Lab test confirmed the presence of SARS-CoV-2 in nasopharygeal swab taken postmortem. Only afterwards, the investigation brought out that he was suffering complaints consistent with respiratory infection in the days before death. Based on all findings, the death was ruled as natural, caused by COVID-19.

Note that now that I am reading the actual journal report, the Daily Mail got the story a bit wrong; on autopsy the extent of his injury did not adequately explain his death, and that the coroner there is suggesting that the immediate cause of death was actually COVID-19, not the fall.

BC

[BostonCard]

Right.  In fact there is an example of the "accident caused by COVID-19"...

There was a story going around a while back (I think I saw it in the Daily Mail, but I may be misremembering) about a roofer who fell off the roof and died from his injuries.  He was found to have COVID-19 post-mortem, and was declared by the coroner to be a COVID-19 death.  The Daily Mail's headline (or whoever it was who reported the story) suggested that this was evidence that COVID deaths are being over-reported since this guy clearly died of a injuries sustained from his fall.

However, when you read deeper into the story, it turns out that the guy was sick (because of COVID-19 that day) and his fall was percipitated because he passed out, which was a result of his low oxygen levels due to COVID-19.  Sure, the immediate cause of death was blunt trauma from what we call a "gravitational challenge", but the underlying reason he fell was because of COVID-19; he would not have died but for COVID.  Consequently it is considered a COVID-19 death.

EDIT: Found the article
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article...virus.html
(my recollection of the story was not exactly right, but the main point, which is that death from a fall wound up being attributed to COVID-19 because COVID-19 likely triggered the fall, is correct)

And here is the journal article:
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/ar...88#bib0015

Herein we are reporting the case of a Caucasian male who apparently died in a workplace allegedly by a fall from height and was found to be SARS-CoV-2 positive just prior to the autopsy. The circumstances of his death required a medicolegal investigation.

Gross autopsy findings included minor external injuries and focal subarachnoid hemorrhage together with ribs and sternum fractures resulting from resuscitation attempt. In addition, visceral congestion was noticed, especially visible in lungs. Traumatic findings suitable to explain sudden death were absent. However, lungs histopathology analysis revealed diffuse alveolar damage with massive capillary congestion. Pathology in other organs included myocardial fibrosis, left ventricular hypertrophy, severe generalized atherosclerosis, glomerulosclerosis, focal liver necrosis, liver microabscesses and intrahepatal cholestasis. Lab test confirmed the presence of SARS-CoV-2 in nasopharygeal swab taken postmortem. Only afterwards, the investigation brought out that he was suffering complaints consistent with respiratory infection in the days before death. Based on all findings, the death was ruled as natural, caused by COVID-19.

Note that now that I am reading the actual journal report, the Daily Mail got the story a bit wrong; on autopsy the extent of his injury did not adequately explain his death, and that the coroner there is suggesting that the immediate cause of death was actually COVID-19, not the fall.

BC