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FORENSIC PATHOLOGY

FORENSIC PATHOLOGY. ELECTROCUTION. ELECTROCUTION. Virtually all accidents Alternating currents Most common type found in homes in the US Low (<600 V) High (>600-750 V) Amperage is most important factor in the current flow A = V/R. ELECTROCUTION. Voltage Household – 110V

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FORENSIC PATHOLOGY

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  1. FORENSIC PATHOLOGY ELECTROCUTION

  2. ELECTROCUTION • Virtually all accidents • Alternating currents • Most common type found in homes in the US • Low (<600 V) • High (>600-750 V) • Amperage is most important factor in the current flow A = V/R

  3. ELECTROCUTION • Voltage • Household – 110V • Must directly touch electrical circuit • Death mainly by ventricular fibrillation • High voltage lines – 8000 V • Electric current may jump (arc) • Death mainly by electrothermal injury or respiratory arrest

  4. ELECTROCUTION • Resistance • Mainly by skin • Dry skin has resistance of 100,000 ohms • Dry calloused skin has resistance of 1,000,000 ohms • Moist skin has resistance of 1,000 ohms • Wet skin has resistance of 100 ohms

  5. Mechanism of Death • Minimal perceptible amperage = 1mA • 5 mA will produce tremors in muscle • 15 mA causes contractions • 50 mA causes respiratory paralysis and death • 75 mA causes ventricular vibrillation • 1 A causes ventricular arrest

  6. ELECTROCUTION • Judicial execution • High voltage currents • Produces • 3rd degree burns • Brain temperature up to 63°C

  7. ELECTROCUTION • Electroconvulsive “shock” Therapy • May cause fracture of bones • Due to muscle contractures • Most common are T12 and L1 vertebrae along with scapular fractures bilaterally

  8. ELECTROCUTION • Muscle Contraction • Back and neck arch backward • Arms rotate inward, elbows flex and hands form fists • Hips and knees lock straight and feet extend • Individuals may grasp and continue to do so

  9. ELECTROCUTION • Autopsy Findings • High Voltage • Electrical burns over body • Low Voltage • Electrical burns at point of entry or exit • May have no electrical burns if minimal resistance to flow • Bathtub • Muscle Contraction

  10. ELECTROCUTION • Low Voltage Burns • Most often on palms of hands and tips of fingers • Erythematous or blistering • Chalky white lesions • Raised borders with central crater • Yellow or black discoloration at burn site

  11. ELECTROCUTION • A typical electrical burn consists of a round, oval or elongated crater. • Base of wound is dark brown. • Ridge of elevated skin on margin

  12. ELECTROCUTION

  13. ELECTROCUTION • If victim survives for short period of time after contact there may be a collection of foam in air passages.

  14. ELECTROCUTION • High Voltage Burns • Charring of body • Current runs through intermediary object • Burns are large and irregular • Chalky white • Raised borders and central crater • Yellow black discoloration at burn site • Massive tissue destruction • Organ rupture

  15. ELECTROCUTION • Manner of Death • Usually all accidental • May be sexual in nature • Suicides and homicides are rare • Ground-Fault Current Interrupters (GFCI) • Circuit is broken if amperage increases by 5 mA

  16. ELECTROCUTION • Lightning • Charged undersurface of a thunder cloud • Virtually always Negative • Electrical charge to the ground • Direct Strike • May injure or kill person • Side flash • Hits an object and ricochets

  17. ELECTROCUTION • Side-Flash Strike • Clothing torn, shoes burst, hair seared, burned on skin from zipper or other metal objects • Entrance and exit burns • Rupture of tympanic membrane • Death by cardiopulmonary arrest or thermal injury • Injury to cardiac and respiratory centers of brain

  18. ELECTROCUTION • Aborescent Lightning injury • Fern-like pattern • Lichtenberg figures • Appears within 1h of lightning injury and fades within 24h • Not burns • May be due to a positively charged lightning bolt • May be due to flashover by positive discharge over skin • Really don’t know what causes this pattern

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