Autopsy Based Retrospective Study of Causes of Death in Victims of Road Traffic Accidents

Road Traffic Accidents (RTA) are increasing at an alarming rate all over the world and act as a major epidemiological as well as medico-legal problem. This autopsy based retrospective study of causes of death in road traffic deaths was conducted at Department of Forensic Medicine, S. S. Institute of Medical Sciences and Research Centre, Davangere, Karnataka, India, during the period 2011 to 2012. A total of 170 post-mortem cases that died due to RTA were included in the study. Objective of this study was to find out the cause of death in fatal road traffic accident. Most common cause of death was found to be cranio-cerebral injuries, followed by haemorrhage and shock, septicaemia, spinal cord injuries and pulmonary embolism. Strict enforcement of traffic rules with compulsory use of road safety measures like helmet wearing, using seat belts will help to reduce the incidence of fatal injuries to the body. Legal enforcement is not just enough to cut down such mortalities, this requires multi-dimensional approach to bring awareness among the public about road safety measures and to shift such victims immediately to the hospitals without waiting for the legal formalities.