Citation

Le Blanc-Louvry I, Gricourt C, Touré E, Papin F, Proust B. Forensic Sci. Int. 2012; 221(1-3): e7-11.

Affiliation

Department of Forensic Medicine, Rouen University Hospital-Charles Nicolle, 1 rue de Germont, 76031 Rouen Cedex, France.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2012, Elsevier Publishing)

DOI

10.1016/j.forsciint.2012.03.027

PMID

22521367

Abstract

We report the case of a 27 year old man who was injured by a Taser gun device which penetrated the frontal part of the skull and damaged the underlying frontal lobe. Cerebral penetration was revealed by a brain CT scan. A neurosurgical procedure was required to remove the dart from the skull and brain and the evolution was successful allowing discharge of the patient one week later. There were no additional lesions, particularly electrifying lesion, as only one probe had penetrated the skull. We also observed the length of a Taser dart is sufficient to allow brain penetration. Fortunately, no infection or neurological complication occurred following brain injury. This case study underlines the potential risk induced by the use of Taser stun gun. Although generally regarded as a safe alternative, serious injuries have however been reported and questions regarding the safety of the device still remains unresolved.

Language: en