Publication

Accident or Crime? About the meaning of face injuries inflicted by blunt force

Journal Paper/Review - Aug 24, 2016

Units
Keywords
Blunt force - facial injuries - head injuries - fatalities - ear injury - retro auricular injury - accident - criminal violence
Doi
Contact

Citation
Sterzik V, Duckwitz D, Bohnert M. Accident or Crime? About the meaning of face injuries inflicted by blunt force. Forensic Sciences Research 2016
Type
Journal Paper/Review (English)
Journal
Forensic Sciences Research 2016
Publication Date
Aug 24, 2016
Brief description/objective

Injuries caused by blunt force are seen frequently in daily forensic casework. Sometimes, especially when there is less information about the surrounding circumstances, it might become difficult to figure out the cause and background of injuries: accident, criminal violence or self-infliction? In the study presented, face injuries caused by blunt force in 694 cases were analysed comparing the injury patterns in accidents to those in crimes. It turned out injuries of the ear and retro auricular region clearly indicate a crime. Also, soft tissue injuries of nose, upper jaw, and lower jaw point towards a criminal violence whereas tooth injuries occur with a similar frequency in both crimes and accidents.