title: External injuries to the neck after free fall from great height.
abstract: Falls from great height are suicidal in most cases. Any antecedent trauma that would indicate an involvement of a third party should, however, be excluded in each case. Herein lies the difficulty in such cases since injuries prior to the fall which could be of criminal nature may be masked by the impact injuries. Injuries on unexposed parts of the body should always raise the suspicion of an involvement of a third party. This applies especially for neck injuries. By a retrospective analysis of 132 cases of falls from great height, the authors conclude, however, that neck injuries may occur after free fall from great height on a flat surface without antecedent trauma.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Forensic Medicine, University of Berne, Berne, Switzerland. plattner@irm.unibe.ch
authors.forename: Thomas
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Plattner
authors.forename: Andrea
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Kopp
authors.forename: Stephan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Bolliger
authors.forename: Ulrich
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Zollinger
mesh_terms: D000058:Accidental Falls; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D005260:Female; D049429:Forensic Pathology; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D019838:Neck Injuries / Q000473:pathology*; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D013405:Suicide