Citation

Rowbotham SK, Blau S, Hislop-Jambrich J. Forensic Sci. Int. 2018; 286: e20-e27.

Affiliation

Centre for Medical Research, Toshiba Medical ANZ, 12-24 Talavera Rd., North Ryde, New South Wales 2113, Australia.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2018, Elsevier Publishing)

DOI

10.1016/j.forsciint.2018.02.020

PMID

29530624

Abstract

The term 'B.A.S.E jump' refers to jumping from a building, antenna, span (i.e., bridge) or earth (i.e., cliff) structure, and parachuting to the ground. There are numerous hazards associated with B.A.S.E jumps which often result in injury and, occasionally, fatality. This case report details the skeletal trauma resulting from a fatal B.A.S.E jump in Australia. In this case, the jumper impacted the ground from a fall of 439m in a feet-first landing position, as a result of a partially deployed parachute, under extreme vertical deceleration. Skeletal trauma was analyzed using full-body post mortem computed tomography (PMCT) and contextual information related to the circumstances of the jump as reported by the Coroner. Trauma to 61 skeletal elements indicates the primary impact was to the feet (i.e., feet-first landing), followed by an anterior impact to the body (i.e., fall forwards). Details of the individual fracture morphologies indicate the various forces and biomechanics involved in this fall event. This case presents the types of fractures that result from a B.A.S.E jump, and highlights the value of using PMCT and coronial data as tools to augment skeletal trauma interpretations.

Crown Copyright © 2018. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Language: en

Keywords

B.A.S.E jump; Blunt force trauma; Forensic anthropology; Post mortem computed tomography; Skeletal trauma; Vertical deceleration