Craniocerebral Trauma Inflicted by Television Falls

• NCJ Number: 235813
• Journal: Journal of Forensic Sciences Volume: 56 Issue: 4 Dated: July 2011 Pages: 1049-1053
• Author(s): Jeremy Deisch, M.S.; Reade Quinton, M.D.; Amy C. Gruszecki, D.O.
• Date Published: July 2011
• Length: 5 pages
• Publication Format: Article
• Publication Type: Report (Study/Research); Case Study
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America
• Note: Presented at the 61st Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Forensic Sciences, February 16–21, 2009 in Denver, CO.

Annotation

This study presents autopsy findings from two cases which illustrate injuries sustained from falling televisions.

Abstract

Accidents and inflicted trauma account for 33 percent and 5-8 percent of childhood deaths, respectively. Injuries secondary to falling televisions have been reported in the clinical literature. However, descriptions of such injuries at autopsy are limited. The severity and patterns of injury may mimic those considered ''typical'' of inflicted trauma. Thus, integration of data from clinical, scene investigation, and autopsy is necessary for determination of the cause and manner of death. Findings common to both cases include subscalpular hemorrhages, skull fractures, subdural hemorrhages, brain injuries, and optic nerve sheath hemorrhages. The first case showed postsurgical changes secondary to evacuation of a posterior fossa hematoma; three-dimensional reconstruction of the admission computed tomography scan demonstrated the extent of the preintervention skull fractures. In addition, the second case showed a right epidural hematoma. Only case two showed retinal hemorrhage. (Published Abstract)