A study of fatal falls from height

Türkoğlu, Aziz; Sehlikoğlu, Kerem; Tokdemir, Mehmet

doi:10.1016/j.jflm.2018.10.008

Cited by 22 publications

(19 citation statements)

References 15 publications

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“…The discrepancy in rates of accidental falls was mainly attributed to the effectiveness of prevention policies adopted by the societies to counter falls from height. 13,21 The greatest percentage of work-related fatalities occurred for occasional workers (83%). These nonregular unorganized workers usually have no education/experience, no formal employer-employee relationships, and lack social security protection.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A 13-Year Study of Fatal Falls From Height in Northern Tunisia

Kort

Belhaj

Kebsi

et al. 2022

Am J Forensic Med Pathol

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IntroductionFalls from height are a major cause of unintentional injury death, resulting in high disability and mortality. We investigated the characteristics of fatal falls and their relationship with intentionality, injury patterns, and death on impact.Materials and MethodsIn this retrospective study, we examined 545 cases of fatal falls from height that underwent autopsy in the forensic department of the Charles Nicolle hospital of Tunis (Tunisia) between January 2008 and December 2020. Cases were reviewed in terms of demographics, fall characteristics, and autopsy findings.ResultsThe population was predominately male (86.6%). Four hundred twenty-one (77.3%) originated from accidents, 120 (22%) were found to be suicidal, with 4 homicide cases. A notable decline in cases was noticed following the Jasmine revolution, 2011 (R squared = 0.8). The mean height of falls was 8 m. Higher falls were associated with a set of organ-specific injuries. Organ injury pattern did not differ based on intentionality. Female victims were 2.4 times more likely to sustain pelvic injuries than males. The majority of victims deceased before reaching health care structures. Death on impact was strongly associated with higher falls, cranial impact, and organ-specific injuries, including cardiac, pulmonary, and skull injuries.Falls from height are in many cases preventable. A clearly defined fall safety policy, strict implementation of evidence-based interventions, efficient allocation of resources, and raising safety awareness must to be urgently implemented.ConclusionUnderstanding patterns of injury and the factors that influence death on impact may be of further interest in the prevention and management of survivors in the acute period.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A 13-Year Study of Fatal Falls From Height in Northern Tunisia

Kort

Belhaj

Kebsi

et al. 2022

Am J Forensic Med Pathol

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Fall from height according to the manner of death can be accidents, homicides or suicides [1][2][3][4][5][6][7]. Compared with the other methods of suicides, suicidal falls from height are relatively rare and usually practiced by elderly [1,6,9].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Bigger horisontal distance between the body and the object from which the fall happened, normally indicates active suicidal jump, however sometimes people do not jump, but rather allow their body to passively fall down [1,6,14].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Type of injuries inflicted in suicides depend to a biggest extent on the height of the fall, part of the body who landed in the first impact, age and weight of the victim, clothes worn and body composition [1,6,16,17,18,19].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Thorough examination of the place of the incident and toxicological analysis, as well as insight into the social and medical history of the victim is necessary [1][2][3][4][5][6][7].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Suicidal Injuries From Height Falls

Pavlovski¹,

Stankov²,

Jakjovski³

et al. 2022

JMS

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According to the manner of death, falls from height can be accidental, homicidal and predominantly suicidal.The type of injuries in suicidal falls from height depend to a large extent on the height of the fall, the part of the body that landed and suffered the first impact, the age and the body weight of the victim, clothes worn and body composition.Although with prospect, the research is an average study of the Institute for Forensic Medicine in Skopje, conducted on 80 victims of fatal falls from different heights, through forensic-medical autopsy.The data for all examined cases have been taken from the forensic-medical autopsy reports.The study analyses the cases which appear to be suicides, according to the manner of death. The injuries inflicted from the falls are analysed according to the height in three groups: small height up to 7 meters, middle height from 7 to 10 meters and big heights above 20 meters.Study results have shown that 25% of the analysed cases are suicides. The analysis of the number and severity of the injuries in relation to the height of the fall prove that the fractures of the hipbone and legs were most frequent injuries found in the victims who have fallen from 7 to 20 meters.In the victims of height falls up to 7 meters, most frequent injuries were the fractures of the ribs and the spine. In falls from height above 20 meters, all organs were equally damaged.In suicides from falls from height, most frequent injuries of the skeleton were fractures of the ribs and spine, while the liver was the most affected organ among the internal organs.However, the type of injuries determined with the autopsy is not a sufficient indicator for successful assessment of the manner of death in fatal falls from height.

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Death Associated with Trees

Weyrauch

2022

Essentials of Autopsy Practice

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A study of fatal falls from height

Cited by 22 publications

References 15 publications

A 13-Year Study of Fatal Falls From Height in Northern Tunisia

A 13-Year Study of Fatal Falls From Height in Northern Tunisia

Suicidal Injuries From Height Falls

Death Associated with Trees

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