Stab wounds of the chest caused by penetration of duralumin rods

Abstract

Sharp force injuries are uncommon in routine forensic practice. While the majority of these cases are homicides or suicides, a significant minority of accidental deaths means that a careful investigation of the circumstances of the death is necessary. We present the case of a young man who presented with stab and cut injuries due to a duralumin rod embedded in his chest. Examination of the body revealed that death was due to penetration of the thoracic aorta by a duralumin rod. Careful investigation of the circumstances surrounding the death was able to confim a case of accidental death due to falling from a ladder onto tomato seedlings that were supported by duralumin rods.

Accidental adult deaths involving ladders: A forensic perspective

“…Penetrating injuries have also been documented in the literature, with falls onto a metal garden stake or onto a screwdriver that was being used prior to the lethal event. 11,12 The fall onto the drill bit causing lethal penetrating cranial injury in the present series resembles the latter case. The fall onto the sharp edge of a corrugated iron fence with significant upper-limb vascular injuries represents another form of injury from impact during a ladder fall.…”

Fatal and Nonfatal Rip Saw Injuries

“…a,b ). In such cases, the presence of abrasions around the wound may be instrumental in determining the type of tool since abrasions usually appear when a stab wound is produced by blunt objects with a large diameter . When a blunt instrument enters the body in a perpendicular direction, the abrasions around the stab wound are mostly circular; on the other hand, when the instrument gets into contact with the skin under an oblique angle, the abrasions at the point of contact are mostly irregular in shape .…”