A Study of Unnatural Death Profile in Mangalore, Southern India 2011-2020

Abstract

When death is unexpected, sudden, litigious, or unexplained, or if it is a criminal death, an autopsy becomes imperative.A forensic autopsy or medicolegal autopsy is “an examination conducted postmortem to address medicolegal objectives. A comprehensive profile of medicolegal autopsies undertaken over ten years (2011–2020) was evaluated at the A.J. Institute of Medical Sciences & Research Centre, Mangaluru/Mangalore. Of the 1842 autopsied incidents, Sixty-two per cent of the autopsied victims were males. Seventy per cent of the overall deaths were between 20 and 49 years old. Road Traffic Accidents (R.T.A.) accounted for 45% of autopsied cases.The 3rd and 4th decades showed peak incidences of Road Traffic Accidents, fall from height, drowning, and burns.Seventy-six percent of unnatural deaths were accidental, 71.9% were due to road traffic incidents. Unnatural deaths do have medicolegal, social and preventive facets. Despite preventive measures, the dominance of Road traffic fatalities is a crucial cause of concern. The multipronged approach involving individuals, family, society, and law enforcement agencies will go a long way in preventing this vast and unfortunate loss of human lives because of accidents