Going against the grain of recent court decisions, the federal appeals court
in New York ruled in August, 2-1, that when a man died of "autoerotic
asphyxiation" (normally, strangling oneself almost to the point of passing out
as a way of enhancing pleasure during masturbation, but in some cases, going
too far), it was an "accident" rather than a self-inflicted injury. Thus, mom
Shirley Critchlow is entitled to death benefits under her son Michael's life
insurance policy (but would not have been for a self-inflicted injury). [New
York Post, 8-13-04]