3/20/2024· Speech-Language Pathology
By: Megan M. Hamilton, MS, CCC-SLP
Food material found in the airway or trachea in an autopsy gives the impression the patient choked to death and suggests liability on the providers’ part. That may be the case, some deaths simply are by choking and secondary to failure on the part of a caregiver to follow diet orders, feeding tactics, postural recommendations, compensatory strategies and/or other safe swallow recommendations.