Firstly, it is very important to differentiate between the following manners of death, when classifying external causes of death: 

•Accidental. This is unintentional.

•Or intentional, which can be self-inflicted, such as suicide, and homicide, such as assault.

The manner of death may be “undetermined” in some cases, even after a postmortem investigation.

Unfortunately, the Death Notification Form in South Africa does not have a tick box to select the manner of death as is recommended by the WHO’s International Medical Certificate of Cause of Death. Where possible, include this information in Part 1.