Problems of Forensic Sciences 1999 Vol. 40 (XL) 72-85
THE EVIDENTIAL VALUE OF WEDGE-SHAPED TIBIAL AND FEMORAL FRACTURES IN CASES OF CAR-TO-PEDESTRIAN COLLISIONS
Grzegorz TERESIŃSKI, Roman MĄDRO
Chair and Department of Forensic Medicine, Medical Academy, Lublin
Streszczenie
In 35 out of 321 car-to-pedestrian collision fatalities, 42 indirect wedge-shaped fractures of long bones of lower extremities were found (28 tibial and 14 femoral shaft fractures). In each case the side of the body hit by the car was determined from the location and character of other injuries and the overall findings from the explanatory proceedings conducted by the police and the Office of Public Prosecutor, which was then compared with the location of the base and the apex of the wedge. Based on these examinations, it was ascertained that the location of 18% of tibial wedges and as many as 46% of femoral wedges lead to erroneous conclusions about the position of the victim with respect to the vehicle at the moment of collision. The results of this study point to the limited usefulness of so-called "Messerer wedges" in the reconstruction of car-to-pedestrian collisions.
Słowa kluczowe
Traffic accidents; Pedestrian victims; Messerer fracture; Mechanism of injury; Reconstruction of an accident.