S. A. Padosch

Skull Injuries Caused by Blows With Glass Bottles

Six cases of blows with glass bottles on the skull are reported. The glass bottles varied in size, weight, shape and filling level. In all cases the bottles broke, but there were no fractures of the skull or injuries of the brain or meninges. As consequences of the blows with the glass bottles bruises, lacerations and incised wounds were seen. The only cause contributing or leading to death was a fatal bleeding from lacerations of the scalp.

Occupation-Related Suicides

This chapter focuses on occupation-related peculiarities of suicides. It is intended to elucidate problems that may arise in occupation-related suicides and to provide approaches and solutions for practical forensic casework. A number of suicides with outstanding occupation-related features observed by the authors are presented and compared with analogous observations reported in the literature. Several common characteristic features related to the respective occupational background can be derived from those case reports. Among others, characteristic features comprise availability and easy access to the used tools (e.g., drugs, poisons, special equipment, self-constructed machinery). Furthermore, special knowledge and skills provided by the suicidal individual’s occupational background and practice are applied (e.g., injection and dissection techniques as seen in physicians and related professions or the use of extraordinary self-constructed weapons by technicians). As for adequate interpretation of autopsy findings, patterns of injury initially not in line with criteria of self-infliction often can be interpreted correctly when taking occupation-related modification of an usual suicide method into consideration. With special regard to outcome of toxicology, appropriate consideration of the suicidal individual’s profession may focus attention on rare and uncommon toxic agents that are usually not taken into account and that are not detected when only routine toxicological screening methods are employed. Suicides with occupation-related backgrounds usually present with highly individual and uncommon modes of commitment and peculiar forensic pathological findings that are difficult to recognize and assess. Supplementing the experience by case reports provided in the literature is an indispensable prerequisite to handling cases of occupation-related suicides in a professional and competent way.