Gursel Gunaydin

Evaluation of farm tractor-related fatalities.

Farm tractors are the major cause of occupational fatalities in agricultural regions. Fatalities typically result from being run over or crushed by the tractor, becoming entangled in the moving parts of the tractor, accidents on roadways, and tractor rollovers, which involve the tractor tipping sideways or backwards and crushing the operator. In this study, tractor-related fatalities in the Konya province of Turkey are retrospectively evaluated. Out of the 3940 cases on which a death examination and/or autopsy was performed between the years 2000 and 2007 at The Konya Branch of Forensic Medicine Council, 86 (2.2%) of the death cases were caused by tractor accidents and are included in this study. The ages of the victims varied between 3 and 80 years old with a mean age of 31.7 ± 22.3. Sixty-eight (79.1%) of the cases involved males, while 18 (20.9%) of the cases involved females. In 32 (37.2%) of the cases, the deaths due to tractor accidents occurred when the tractor overturned. In 37 (43.0%) of the cases, the tractor-related fatalities involved the passengers and the drivers were involved in 34 (39.5%) of the cases. In conclusion, tractor accidents are preventable and deaths from tractor accidents can be significantly reduced if drivers are required to wear safety belts and helmets and frequent checks are implemented to enforce the ban on carrying passengers.

Ligature strangulation deaths in the province of Konya (Turkey)

In the present study, deaths by ligature strangulation in the province of Konya (Turkey) were evaluated from the medicolegal point of view between 2001 and 2006. In total 2850 medicolegal death cases, 161 (5.65%) were resulted from asphyxia and 20 (12.4%) of the deaths due to asphyxia were cases of ligature strangulation. Male:female ratio of the victims was 1:1 with ages ranging from 1.5 to 70 years and a mean age of 37.22+/-19.28 years. 17 cases (85%) were of homicidal and 3 cases (15%) of suicidal origin. The most widely used ligature material was clothesline in 6 cases (30%). On the examination of neck structures, thyroid cartilage fracture was present in 7 (35%) cases, fracture of the hyoid bone in 3 cases (15%), fracture both of the thyroid cartilage and hyoid bone in 1 case (5%), only ecchymosis in soft tissues in 7 cases (35%). In the paper, the findings determined in our cases are discussed in the light of the literature on the subject.

Throat-cutting of accidental origin.

Abstract:  Incised wounds of the neck can be accidental, homicidal, or suicidal. In this paper, a death case has been presented where a spinning circular saw of a cutting machine in a workshop came off its place and cut the throat of a 30‐year‐old male who was operating the machine. There was an incision (15 cm × 5 cm) that began in the middle of the neck down the thyroid cartilage, extended horizontally to the left of the neck and ended on the outer part of the neck in the outer left side of m. trapezius. Death occurred because of exsanguination caused by the cutting of carotis artery and jugular vein. In the case we presented, although the cut in the neck initially suggested homicide, it was found to have occurred as a result of an accident after the autopsy and death scene investigation.

Accidental decapitation: a case report.

We report a case of an accidental decapitation of an agriculture worker in a field. The scene investigation revealed that the worker had loosely tied a scarf tied over his face in an attempt to diminish his exposure to barley dust, to which he was allergic, while distributing the barley loads with a shovel upon a trailer. The trailer was simultaneously being loaded by a helix elevator machine and its rotating shaft suddenly caught the victims scarf and pulled it down to the victims neck. The rotating motion immediately tightened the scarf around the neck resulting in hanging/strangulation noose that, by continued tightening, caused decapitation of the victim. The victims body was found on the ground by the trailer and the victims head was discovered in the barley load in the trailer. Examination revealed that the neck was severed at the level of the second and third cervical vertebrae.

Sudden Death Due to Hydatid Cyst Rupture Located in Right Ventricle

Hydatid cyst is a parasite disease, which is common in those countries where animal husbandry is extensive, but preventive medicine is lacking. Endemic regions are South Europe, South America, Africa, Turkey, Australia, New Zealand, and India. In the study, a sudden death case due to cardiac hydatid cyst rupture located in right ventricle has been presented with a review of the literature. The victim was a 10-year-old girl of a family who raised sheep. External examination of the body showed congestion in both the head and face but neither trauma nor evidence of violence or eruptions on the skin were found. At autopsy, through a vertical incision on the frontal surface of truncus pulmonalis, a total of 8 daughter cysts were obtained. A 6 x 5 cm cyst was observed in the right ventricular apex. In those countries where hydatid cyst is endemic, and when sudden unexpected death occurs in individuals involved in animal husbandry, cardiac hydatid cyst must be kept in mind as a cause.

Modifiye Edilmemiş Kurusıkı Silah ile Meydana Gelmiş İntihar Orijinli Bir Ölüm Olgusu

Kurus›k› silahlar genellikle zarars›z kabul edilen, üretimi, kullan›m› ve sat›fl› 5729 say›l› yasa ile düzenlenen, sat›n al›nmas› ve elde edilmesi nispeten kolay olan silahlard›r. Yaz›da kurus›k› silah ile intihar orijinli bafl bölgesinden yaralanma sonucu ölen 31 yafl›nda bir erkek olgu sunuldu. Otopside, sa¤ temporal bölgede bitiflik at›fl bulgular› gösteren ateflli silah yaras›, sa¤ temporal kemi¤in skuamöz parças›nda k›r›klar, epidural ve subaraknoidal kanama, sa¤ temporal lobta kontüzyon tespit edildi. Kiflinin ölümünün kurus›k› silah fifle¤inin gaz bas›nc› etkisiyle meydana gelen beyin doku hasar› ve kafa içi kanama neticesinde meydana geldi¤i sonucuna var›ld›. Olguda da görüldü¤ü üzere kurus›k› silahlar, bitiflik ya da bitifli¤e yak›n mesafeden gerçeklefltirilen at›fllarda ölümcül yaralar oluflturabilmektedir. Dolay›s›yla bu silahlar›n namlular› gaz ç›k›fl›n› engelleyecek flekilde yeniden dizayn edilmelidir. Anahtar kelimeler: Kurus›k› silah, ölüm, adli t›p

Retrospective Evaluation of Death Cases Related with Suicide Occurred in Konya Between 2000 and 2005

This paper analyzes the use of instructional podcasts with students in introductory computer application classes at a small, independent, private university. Participants were all undergraduates in the school of education. In an effort to model effective use of instructional technology for preservice teachers and to “meet digital native students where they live,” the course instructor created podcasts to augment class instruction and create a 21st century learning environment. Focus groups were conducted to capture students’ perceptions of these supplemental podcasts. Surprisingly, the majority of these digital native participants reported that instructional podcasts were not beneficial to them because of their lack of time, lack of familiarity with the technology, resistance to using instructional technologies, preference for face-to-face instruction and reluctance to make the time

Two death cases originating from supplementary heater in the cabins of parked trucks

A supplementary heater can be mounted in trucks or other transportation vehicles and used to heat the air in the cabin independent of the engine of the vehicle. This apparatus works with diesel fuel or gasoline. Combustion products burning in the pre-combustion chamber heat the fins of the engine. The air passing through the fins is heated and is transferred into the cabin. The malfunction of such an apparatus may be the cause of carbon monoxide (CO) poisoning or fire. In this study, we report two cases in which drivers died while asleep in the cabins of parked trucks. In the first case, a 43-year-old man died because of CO poisoning originating from a broken supplementary heater. In the second case, a 48-year-old man died owing to a fire that resulted from the burning of upholstery cloths in the truck cabin, and which was caused by a supplementary heater set at very high temperatures. In both cases, it was determined by a technical expert that the CO poisoning in the first case and the fire in the second case were caused by the supplementary heater in the trucks. It is emphasized in this article that the supplementary heater in the truck might be the cause of mortal CO poisoning as well as be responsible for fires in the cabins of the trucks. It aims to highlight that a detailed investigation of supplementary heaters at the death scene is required for such death cases in the trucks.

Konya İl ve İlçe Cezaevlerindeki Hükümlü ve Tutuklu Ölümleri

Bir kimsenin cezaevinde ya da polis gözetiminde ölmesi durumunda, devlete teslim edilmifl ve devletin sorumlulu¤undaki kiflilerin ölümünün kuflkuya yer vermeyecek aç›kl›kta tan›mlanmas› ve devlet sorumlulu¤unda herhangi bir aksama olup olmad›¤›n›n ayd›nlat›lmas› için olgunun dikkatli bir flekilde araflt›r›lmas› gerekir. Bu çal›flmada, 2001-2007 y›llar› aras›nda Konya il ve ilçelerindeki cezaevlerinde ölen ve otopsisi yap›lan hükümlü ve tutuklu olgular›; demografik özellikleri, cezaevinde bulunma nedenini oluflturan suçlar, ölümün meydana geldi¤i yer, cezaevinde kalma süresi, ölüm orijini ve ölüm nedeni yönünden de¤erlendirilmifltir. Bu amaçla Konya Adli T›p fiube Müdürlü¤ü’nün 2001-2007 y›llar› aras›ndaki ölü muayene ve otopsi tutanaklar› retrospektif olarak incelendi. Tümü erkek olan toplam 32 hükümlü ve tutuklu ölümü olgusunun yafllar› 25 ile 81 aras›nda olup, ortalama yafl 44.5±15.1 bulundu. Cezaevinde bulunma nedenini oluflturan suçlar aras›nda birinci s›ray› 11 (%34.4) olgu ile “kasten adam öldürmek” suçunun ald›¤› görüldü. Ölümler 12 (%37.5) olguda cezaevinde, 20 (%62.5) olguda hastanede gerçekleflmiflti. Olgular›n ölmeden önce cezaevinde kald›¤› süreler 1 gün ile 5 y›l aras›nda de¤iflmekte olup, ortalama kalma süresi 2.26 y›l bulundu. Olgular›n 25’inde (%78.1) ölümün do¤al nedenlerden meydana geldi¤i, do¤al nedenli ölümler içerisinde enfeksiyonlar›n 9 (%36.0) olgu ile ilk s›rada bulundu¤u belirlendi. Yaz›da herhangi bir suç/suç iddias› nedeniyle cezaevinde bulunan tutuklu ve hükümlülerin cezaevine giriflte ve sonras›nda yap›lacak periyodik muayeneleri ile tedavi gerektiren önemli bir hastal›¤› tespit edilen olgular›n, cezaevi yerine hastanelere yönlendirilmesinin uygun olaca¤› hususuna dikkat çekildi. Anahtar kelimeler: Hükümlü, tutuklu, cezaevi, ölüm