title: [Fatal hunting injuries in North Rhine-Westphalia].
abstract: The investigation covers 14 fatal hunting accidents which occurred in North Rhine-Westphalia in the last 23 years, among them 13 firearm fatalities. All the accidents happened during the statutory hunting season reaching a peak in the main small game season. 86% of the persons causing the accidents and 73% of the victims were over 41 years and experienced hunters. 36% of the accidents were caused by the victims themselves. The fatal gunshot injuries were inflicted by rifle bullets in 7 cases (54%) and shotgun pellets in six cases (46%). No accidents were due to shotgun slugs or handgun ammunition. The main factors responsible for the fatalities were: covering the victim while swinging on the game (31%), failure to discharge the firearm while descending from the raised hide or transporting the weapon in vehicles (31%), mistaking the victim for game (15%), failure to discharge the weapon during a hunting break or while pressing down obstacles or careless handling of the weapon (23%). In no case was the accident caused by a defective weapon or ammunition. In conclusion aspects of preventing fatal hunting accidents are discussed.
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Hartwig
mesh_terms: D000059:Accidents / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001265:Athletic Injuries / Q000401:mortality*; D002423:Cause of Death; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005858:Germany; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D014948:Wounds, Gunshot / Q000401:mortality*