Traumatic in-cerebration due to conveyor machine accident - A distinctive injury pattern case report

Abstract

Cranio-cerebral trauma due to crush injury is a commonly encountered cause of death in forensic practice. These mostly occur due to static loading of the head and often present as compound comminuted skull fractures with brain parenchyma extruding out of the body. In the present case, the head crushing injury occurred due to machine entrapment while the conveyor system continued to be operational. This resulted in cranio-caudal migration of the brain matter into the respiratory and gastro-intestinal tracts due to the combined normal compression, translational shear and rotational traction forces acting on the head. This unique ‘traumatic in-cerebration’ injury is being reported here to discuss the role of injury pattern analysis in retrospective event reconstruction and to highlight the importance of conveyor safety practices in industrial workplaces.