Work-related fatal injuries in Brescia County (Northern Italy), 1982 to 2015: A forensic analysis. (August 2018)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Perotti, Silvia; Russo, Maria Cristina
• Is Part Of: Journal of forensic and legal medicine. Volume 58(2018)
• Page Start: 122
• Page End: 125
• Publication Date: 2018-08
• Subjects: Work-related fatal injuries -- Occupational fatalities -- Autopsy -- Workplace; Medical jurisprudence -- Periodicals; Forensic sciences -- Periodicals; Forensic Medicine -- Periodicals; Médecine légale -- Périodiques; Electronic journals; 614.1
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jflm.2018.06.002
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1752-928X

Abstract

Abstract: Work-related deaths represent an important social problem. We report all the occupational fatal injuries recorded by the Brescia Institute of Forensic Medicine from 1982 to 2015. A total of 426 post-mortem examinations due to accidental work injuries were retrospectively analysed according to temporal distribution (year, month and day of the workplace accident); workers' characteristics (sex, age, nationality); type of occupation; cause of death; anatomical region of fatal injuries and timing of death. The accidental occupational events occurred with a mean of 12.5 cases per year. Almost all the workers were male (99%) and Italians (87%), aged between 35 and 49 years old (34.27%). The occupation with more fatalities was construction (36.62%), followed by mechanical industry (19.25%) and agriculture (13.15%). Most of deaths were connected to a mechanical trauma (77.69%) such as falls, machinery-related events, blunt forces or explosions. The predominant site of the lethal wound was the head (33.56%), with a high percentage of death resulting from a traumatic brain injury. In 30.75% of cases death occurred after a short period of hospitalization. Highlights: Occupational fatal injuries represent an important social problem. Construction has to be considered one of the most dangerous working categories. The reconstruction of the accidents allows to improve protection devices and equipments.