Forensic Medical Evaluation of Hydrodynamic Injury: Case from Practice

Abstract

Closed blunt abdominal trauma is a rather common cause of death among other types of trauma; it has its own peculiarities and may arise as a result of the actions of various objects. Many devices and instruments manufactured today on an industrial scale present a potential danger of severe damage. Nowadays, the characteristic features of hydrodynamic damage to tissues have not been fully studied and described, which makes it difficult to highlight some of the specific features that distinguish precisely this type of tissue damage. At the same time, addressing the questions posed by investigative and judicial bodies to the forensic medical expert in some cases causes certain difficulties; therefore, we propose to consider our own forensic medical assessment of the damage caused by the hydrodynamic action of a liquid jet: a combined hydrodynamic open blunt chest and stomach injury.

The given interesting case from practice clearly demonstrates the potential danger to human life of certain apparatuses and instruments manufactured on an industrial scale under conditions of careless use. The conducted expert evaluation showed that, taking into account the corresponding "explosive" nature and localization of lesions of the hollow organs of the abdominal and chest cavity, as well as the detection of a chemical (emulsion) at the edges of the abdominal wound and in the cavity of the damaged stomach identical in composition to the specimen submitted for examination, the abovementioned trauma has a hydrodynamic character. It was formed shortly before death from the powerful impact (shock wave) of a high-pressure emulsion jet from damaged waterproofing in the region of the stomach. The described injuries, which in their aggregate led to death, indicate the need for a detailed description and study of lesions on the corpse for further reliable expert forensic medical assessment.