Pattern and Distribution of Injuries from the Fall from the Height in Fatal Cases in a Tertiary Care Hospital, Chennai

Authors

  • G. Amritha Sulthana
  • Yuhesh Somasundaram
  • Shankar Subramanian
  • Manoharan Chellasamy

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.37506/ijfmt.v16i3.18238

Keywords:

Fall; height; morbidity; mortality; Impact.

Abstract

Background: The second leading cause for the injury related deaths is fall from height. The injuries fatalities
depends on the height of fall and its impact surface. Landing position is also considered as an important parameter.
Aim: The aim of the study is to study the pattern and distribution of injuries from the fall from height in fatal cases.
Methodology: This study includes 100 cases of victims brought to the tertiary care hospital with the history of fall
from the height. The cases were brought from the accident site or after death as a consequence of fall in this tertiary
care hospital. During autopsy all the relevant details like basic details and the injury details like dimensions,injury
types and the primary impact site were taken. Blood and urine examination were done for finding alcohol and
drugs. Data entered in MS excel and analysis done in SPSS 23 software. P value <0.05 is considered to be significant.
Results: Majority of the study participants belongs to 31-40 years of age group(30%) followed by 41-50 years of age
(18%). Male predominance was observed in our study (90%).34% were daily labours. The most common external
injury is abrasion noted in 90% of the study participants. The most common primary impact site was head (50%)
followed by backside (12%).
Conclusion: Fall from heights cause significant morbidity and mortality. It is important to create awareness among
the workers and to provide safety gears for the persons working in construction sites.

Author Biographies

  • G. Amritha Sulthana

    Assistant Professor, Department of Forensic Medicine, Government Medical College and Hospital,
    Krishnagiri, Tamil Nadu

  • Yuhesh Somasundaram

    Assistant Professor, Dept of Forensic Medicine, Government Medical College and ESI Hospital, Coimbatore, TamilNadu

  • Shankar Subramanian

    Assistant Professor, Dept of Forensic Medicine, Government Erode Medical College and Hospital, Perundurai, TamilNadu

  • Manoharan Chellasamy

    Professor and Head of the Department, Dept of Forensic Medi-cine, Government Medical College and ESI
    Hospital, Coimbatore, TamilNadu.

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Published

2022-07-04

How to Cite

Pattern and Distribution of Injuries from the Fall from the Height in Fatal Cases in a Tertiary Care Hospital, Chennai. (2022). Indian Journal of Forensic Medicine & Toxicology, 16(3), 1-5. https://doi.org/10.37506/ijfmt.v16i3.18238