Mechanical Injury among Medicolegal Cases in the Department of Emergency in a Tertiary Care Centre: A Descriptive Cross-sectional Study

Abstract

Introduction: A medico-legal issue arises whenever an injured person visits a hospital. Therefore, all physicians who treat such patients have a legal duty to accurately document injuries as part of medical treatment. The study aimed to find out the prevalence of mechanical injury among medicolegal cases in the Department of Emergency in a tertiary care centre. Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted among patients admitted to the Emergency Department of a tertiary centre from May 2018 to April 2020 after obtaining ethical approval from the Institutional Review Committee (Reference number: 356). Convenience sampling method was used among patients who met the eligibility criteria. All relevant data were extracted using hospital records. Point estimate and 95% Confidence Interval were calculated. Results: Out of 3486 medicolegal cases registered in the Department of Emergency, 856 (24.55%) (28.37-29.96 at 95% Confidence interval) were cases of mechanical injuries. Males 616 (71.96%) outnumbered females for all types of mechanical injuries. Road Traffic Accident 527 (61.56%) was the leading cause of injury and lacerations 351 (29.52%) were the most common pattern of injury. The majority 628 (73.36%) of the injuries were simple in nature. Conclusions: The prevalence of mechanical injuries among medicolegal cases was similar in our study compared to other studies done in similar settings. The majority of the injuries were caused by traffic accidents, which could have been prevented if a safe system approach to road safety was followed.

Characteristics of Medico-Legal Cases and Errors in Documentation of Medicolegal Reports at a Teaching Hospital in Nepal. A Descriptive Cross-Sectional Study

“…Road traffic accidents (RTAs) continue to be a significant cause of medico-legal cases (MLCs) reporting to emergency departments. 1,6,7,8,9 Similarly, in our study RTAs accounted for (31.79%) of MLCs. This emphasizes the need for more effective measures to improve road safety, such as improving the road infrastructure, promoting safe driving practices, and enforcing traffic safety regulations.…”

“…A similar finding was reported in a Nepalese study, where more than half (63.20%) of the injuries in MLCs were blunt injuries. 7 In terms of the documentation of MLRs, no single MLR was found to be free of errors. It was observed, that the details of the person accompanying the patient at the time of hospitalization were not recorded in a significant proportion of MLRs (51.45%).…”