Citation

Buchaillet C, Gaudin A, Rougé-Maillart C, Jousset N. J. Forensic Sci. 2016; 61(5): 1375-1377.

Affiliation

UNAM (University of Nantes, Angers and Le Mans) Angers University, 40 rue de Rennes, BP 73532, Angers cedex 01, 49035, France.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2016, American Society for Testing and Materials, Publisher John Wiley and Sons)

DOI

10.1111/1556-4029.13144

PMID

27356305

Abstract

Claw hammers have the specific characteristic of having two distinct ends: one a flat head of variable form, the other bifurcated. So the use of this tool as a blunt instrument will cause varying injuries. The authors present two clinical cases of assault with a claw hammer. Examinations revealed two types of wound. A first injury composed of integumentary lacerations and underlying bone injuries in terms of "shape" suggested the use of a blunt instrument. A second injury made up of damage showing two parallel wounds or two wounds located one in the extension of the other suggested the use of an object with a bifurcated end. The combination of both types of injury should alert examiners to the possibility of the use of a claw hammer in causing the injuries in order to help direct investigators in their investigations and in the search for the weapon used.

© 2016 American Academy of Forensic Sciences.

Language: en