A RETROSPECTIVE STUDY OF RAILWAY FATALITIES BROUGHT FOR AUTOPSY AT JORHAT MEDICAL COLLEGE AND HOSPITAL, JORHAT, ASSAM

Background: Understanding the patterns of injuries sustained during railway accidents is crucial for developing effective preventive measures and improving safety protocols. A retrospective analysis was performed on a comprehensive database of medico-legal autopsy reports from railway accident cases brought for medico-legal autopsy spanning a period of three years.

Materials & Methods: The study included victims of all age groups and demographics to ensure the diversity of injury patterns is adequately represented. Blunt trauma, lacerations, fractures, and organ damage were common.

Results: In this study, railway incidents accounted for 2.2% of total deaths, with 78.3% of victims identified and 21.7% unidentified. Most victims were male (82.6%), aged 41-50, and incidents occurred mainly in summer, during August, and between 12 am and 8 am. Grease stains were found in 76.1% of cases, and most injuries included crush injuries (76.1%) followed by fractures and lacerations. The bodies of 60.9% victims were found in intact condition were as in 28.3% of the cases complete separation of the body parts were seen. Instantaneous death occurred in 50% of cases, while hemorrhage and shock was the second most common cause of death.