balance of probability

balance of probability

A term of art referring to a pathologist’s degree of certainty that the sequence of events delineated in the clinicopathological summary is the actual cause of death. In the UK, the pathologist is not expected to be 100% certain about the cause of death that he/she submits to the Office of National Statistics, but rather weigh the evidence and provide the most likely scenario that led to natural or non-suspicious deaths reported and authorised by the coroner. The pathologist fills out the certificate based on the balance of probability that death was attributable to a particular cause (e.g. acute myocardial infarction, hypertension, etc.).