Citation

Perilli G, Di Battista B, Montana A, Pavia J, Cauchi S, Zerafa NM, Pomara C. J. Forensic Leg. Med. 2015; 32: 21-24.

Affiliation

Department of Forensic Pathology, University of Foggia, Ospedale Colonnello d'Avanzo, Viale degli Aviatori 1, 71100 Foggia, Italy; Department of Anatomy, University of Malta, Msida, Malta. Electronic address: cristoforopomara@hotmail.com.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2015, Elsevier Publishing)

DOI

10.1016/j.jflm.2015.02.006

PMID

25882144

Abstract

Water skiing, boat racing, skin and scuba diving, as well as pleasure boat cruising are becoming increasingly popular hobbies. As a result, the incidence of injuries secondary to motor propellers is becoming more frequent. Injuries by propellers, amputation, death by drowning, and bleeding are rare reported events in forensic literature. The most common circumstances surrounding boat-propeller-related injuries are concerned with getting into or out of the boat, personal watercraft use or water skiing, and falling or being thrown from the boat. A case of a scuba diver's death that occurred during an illegal scuba fishing trip around a desalination plant is presented. A complete autopsy and histological study of all organs and surfaces of dismembered cadaveric sections, performed in order to determine the phases of death, are reported. An underwater scene investigation was conducted by an engineering team studying the mouth of the pump and the dynamic characteristic of rotating propeller blades.

Language: en