Accident or crime? About the meaning of face injuries inflicted by blunt force

Abstract

Injuries caused by blunt force are seen frequently in daily forensic casework. Sometimes, especially when there is less information about the surrounding circumstances, it might become difficult to figure out the cause and background of injuries: accident, criminal violence or self-infliction? In the study presented, face injuries caused by blunt force in 694 cases were analyzed comparing the injury patterns in accidents to those in crimes. It turned out injuries of the ear and retroauricular region clearly indicate a crime. Also, soft tissue injuries of nose, upper jaw, and lower jaw point towards a criminal violence, whereas tooth injuries occur with a similar frequency in both crimes and accidents.