Communication And Transportation Injuries

COMMUNICATION AND TRANSPORTATION INJURIES These injuries include injuries on roads, railways, vessels and aviation injuries.

ROAD INJURIES/ACCIDENTS • Due to heavy casualties of human life on roads, in every country each year, extensive investigative research works have been done and are still being done, on the possible preventive aspects.

The investigation of road traffic accident cases involve the following purposes, 1. To identify the cause of accident, 2. To allow adequate compensation to the victim, if he is alive, or the next-of kin, if the victim is dead. 3. To punish the offender, if any offence is involved. 4. To search guidelines towards prevention of future accidents.

The investigation should include, 1. Collection of history. 2. Examination of the deceased or the injured. 3. Examination of the vehicle /vehicles involved in the accident. 4. Examination of the spot or place of occurrence of the accident.

Examination of the dead victim(postmortem examination) The postmortem examination should include examination of the body of the victim, examination of the clothing and any other materal, if sent along with the dead body. Examination of the clothing is important and the autopsy surgeon while doing the same, should try to find out and note the recent tears, grease mark, blood stain, soil, mud or any other stain, if present on clothes.

Examination of the body should be carried on as any other case of death due to injury. Grease marks, blood stain and stain due to soil, mud, sand etc.should be noted with care, as to their number, size and placement. Proper recording of the injuries is very much important for solving many questions which arise in a road traffic accident case.

Injuries and their interpretations in vehicular accident cases Road traffic injuries are blunt force injuries with forceful impact. According to the manner of production, they have three distinct types1. Primary impact injuries 2. Secondary injuries 3. Secondary impact injuries

Primary impact injuriesPrimary impact injuries are caused when the vehicle hits the victim say a pedestrian, for the first time, to knock him down. These injuries are very much important to detect the offending vehicle, because, being the result of the impact by the vehicle, these injuries may bear the design of the part of the vehicle causing the injuries, in the form of imprint abrasion or patterned bruise.

Thus, if the front of the vehicle strikes the body, the design of the grill of the vehicle may be imprinted on the body of the victim. The height of the primary impact injury on the body of the victim by some particular part of the body of the vehicle may give an idea about the height of the vehicle.

Secondary injuriesThese injuries are sustained by the victim after being knocked down by the vehicle, due to fall and friction or impact with the ground. That is why, detail examination of these injuries may help to detect some sand, soil or gravel on the injuries which help as evidence to link the place of occurrence with the injuries .the injuries may be any of the hard blunt force injuries .Among abrasions , grazed abrasions and among lacerations stretched laceration are most common due to friction with the ground .

Secondary impact injuries • These injuries are the result of impact between the body and the vehicle for the second time . When , after the primary impact , the victim is thrown forward and falls on the vehicle is still in motion , then the wheels of the vehicle will run over the victim . Hence secondary impact injuries bear the tyre marks of the wheels . Run over may be caused by the front or the back wheels .Avulsion laceration is the most frequent injury , caused due to run over by the vehicle .

Injuries sustained by the occupants of a four wheeler • The driver – The driver ,by virtue of his position sustains certain injuries which others don’t . His body being in the inertia of motion and the vehicle being in a state of rest just when the collision occurs , his body moves forward . His forehead strikes the glass screen , his chest strikes the steering wheel,his knees will strike the dash-board and his reflexly straightened legs may sustain fracture of the calcaneum or the tibia of either or both sides .

The other front seaters – The injuries sustained will be same as in case of the driver except that , injury due to the steering wheel will not be there and depending on the position of the legs , injuries over the two legs will also be different .

Injuries sustained by the rear seat occupiers • Injuries sustained by the rear seat occupants will be somewhat different from those sustained by the front seat occupants . There is no glass screen for the forehead and no dashboard for the knee and leg to strike the back side of top of the front seat and the knee may strike the back of the body of the front seat .

RAILWAY AND AVIATION INJURIES