Head and neck injury patterns in fatal falls: epidemiologic and biomechanical considerations

Journal of Forensic and Legal Medicine
Michael D FreemanWendy Leith

Abstract

Fatal falls often involve a head impact, which are in turn associated with a fracture of the skull or cervical spine. Prior authors have noted that the degree of inversion of the victim at the time of impact is an important predictor of the distribution of skull fractures, with skull base fractures more common than skull vault fractures in falls with a high degree of inversion. The majority of fatal fall publications have focused on skull fractures, and no research has described the association between fall circumstances and the distribution of fractures in the skull and neck. In the present study, we accessed data regarding head and neck fractures resulting from fatal falls from a Swedish autopsy database for the years 1992-2010, for the purposes of examining the relationships between skull and cervical spine fracture distribution and the circumstances of the fatal fall. Out of 102,310 medico-legal autopsies performed there were 1008 cases of falls associated with skull or cervical spine fractures. The circumstances of the falls were grouped in 3 statistically homogenous categories; falls occurring at ground level, falls from a height of <3 m or down stairs, and falls from ≥3 m. Only head and neck injuries and fractures that w...Continue Reading

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Citations

Mar 5, 2015·Journal of Forensic and Legal Medicine·Safiye Kafadar, Hüseyin Kafadar
Dec 2, 2017·Journal of Forensic Sciences·Samantha K RowbothamVictoria Francis
Aug 23, 2019·Journal of Forensic Sciences·Graziano D L CrudeleCristina Cattaneo
Mar 23, 2018·Forensic Science, Medicine, and Pathology·Samantha K RowbothamVictoria Francis
Oct 9, 2014·Revista do Colégio Brasileiro de Cirurgiões·José Gustavo ParreiraJosé Cesar Assef
Sep 20, 2017·The American Journal of Forensic Medicine and Pathology·Hüseyin EşErdinç Özdemir

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