EC Clinical and Medical Case Reports

Objectives: This study was carried out to provide a baseline of data representative of medically examined cases in which electrocution was identified as the cause of death.

Materials and Methods: This retrospective study was conducted at the Forensic Medicine Teaching Center of North Jordan- affiliated with Jordan University of Science and Technology, Jordan. A total of 3397 autopsies were conducted in the Department of Forensic Medicine and Toxicology during the period from January 2017- December 2022; of them, 71 cases of death was due to electrocution were analyzed.

Results: In this study, most victims (84.5%) were men of whom about (34%) were in the age group ranging between 21 and 30 years. Electrocution was 100% unintentional in all 71 cases of electrocution deaths. Upper limbs (70.4%) were implicated in most of the victims because of contact with an electric source. In this study, we found that the occurrences of electrocution were often greater in the summer season (40.7%) than in the other seasons, indicating a seasonal fluctuation in instances of electrocution.

Conclusion: Electric harm can range from nil to severe tissue destruction, thus in all cases of electrocution death, a thorough autopsy should be undertaken to aid investigations for compensation and to design future safety precautions. The pattern of fatal electrical injuries in this study is consistent with that reported in most other investigations undertaken by other authors.

 Keywords: Electrocution; Burns; Accidental Death; Injury

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