Analysis of Railway Track Deaths-An Autopsy based Study Ahuja Prachi1, Shetty H Pavanchand2,*, Dsouza Haneil L2, Padubidri Jagadish Rao2, Shetty B Suresh Kumar3, Kotian Shashidhar4 13rd Year Student, Department of Forensic Medicine, KMC, Mangalore, Manipal Academy of Higher Education (MAHE), Manipal 2Associate Professor, Department of Forensic Medicine, KMC, Mangalore, Manipal Academy of Higher Education (MAHE), Manipal 3Professor, Department of Forensic Medicine, KMC, Mangalore, Manipal Academy of Higher Education (MAHE), Manipal 4Professor, Research Department, Srinivas University, Mangalore *Corresponding author: Dr H Pavanchand Shetty, Associate professor, Department of forensic medicine, KMC, Mangalore. Manipal Academy of Higher Education (MAHE), Manipal, Karnataka, E-mail: pavanchandshetty@gmail.com
Online published on 27 November, 2019. Abstract Introduction Railways being one of the commonest mode of transportation, also has a risk of accidents associated to it. Retrospective analytical study was done to understand the type of injuries sustained and various factors associated with railway accidents. Methodology Study Design-Retrospective analysis of autopsy reports of railway track accidents. Study Setting The study was carried out in forensic Medicine department of Kasturba Medical College, Mangalore. Sample Size 205 autopsy reports of railway track accidents from 2007–2017. Results A total of 205 railway accidents were observed between 2007 and 2017 out of which 93.7% of the deceased were males. Out of all the cases, 54(26.3%) belonged to age group 40–50 years, followed by 50(24.4%) in the age group 30–40 years. In 81.7% of cases, history of crossing the track was present. 39.5% of death occurred due to head injuries sustained by the victim. In 96% of cases the victim died on the spot. 1150 external injuries were observed out of which abrasions were the most common(34.5%). Head was the most common site for lacerations, contusions and fracture and abrasions were most commonly seen on the lower limb. Conclusions To reduce railway accidents the government has to implement awareness program and modify the infrastructure available which will facilitate the safety procedure. Top Keywords Railway accidents, Injuries, Postmortem report. Top |