Forensic analysis of fabricated long bone fractures for gain.

Abstract

Background: Self-inflicting injury is a recognised psychiatric disorder. Such cases are regularly seen in the emergency department, with a false history of assault. Most of these are easily detected by a forensic medicine expert as they present as described in literature but are difficult to explain if altered by professionals for nefarious reasons.

Method: This was a prospective study carried out at a tertiary centre. The data was collected and analysed from the office records of medico-legal reports prepared at our institute between 25 February 2022 and 25 February 2023.

Results: 21 cases were recorded, that met with our criteria. Most involved males (90.5%). Minimum age was 27 years and maximum age 66 years with a mean of 48.6 years and a standard deviation of ±11 years. Most offenders were unemployed (38.1%). Most fractured bone was tibia (47.6%). Left-sided fractures were more common (61.9%). Injuries corresponded with the findings on clothes in three cases (14.3%).

Discussion: Fabricated wounds will reflect the intentions of the fabricator and may range from superficial wounds to grievous injury. Only a critical analysis of all medico-legal cases will identify them, and they will have similarities of presentation.

Conclusion: Such findings have rarely been reported in other parts of India. A diligently prepared medico-legal report and profiling of all cases can help establish patterns of such injuries.