Introduction.
Labour-related accidents present a significant criminal law, labour law, social and forensic problem. Electrotraumatism accounts for 14% of them. (Lipscomb HJ, et al 2000, Colak B, et al 2004) and takes the fifth place among the traumas in the USA (Taylor A. J, et al 2002). The right diagnostics and appropriate analysis of labour-related electrotraumatism (LET) require good knowledge of a number of circumstances specifically peculiar to it.
Purpose.
The purpose of this study is to identify some distinctive features of LET for relatively long period of time in the district of Varna.
Material and methods.
Forensic medicine has been studies from 16,780 autopsies for the period 1965-2005 performed at the Chair of Forensic medicine and Deontology in the Medical University of Varna. Out of them, the data on 86 LET cases have been analyzed. So as to determine the days of the week, we have used the programme Al Calendar v254r (Lysenco Ð?., 2005). The results have been processed by the statistical methods of the alternative, variational and graphical analysis and analysis of dynamic changes by the method of the smallest squares.
Results
Our study has identified 86 cases of LET which account for 30.71±9.75% of all electrotraumas (n=280) during the period under study. Their distribution over the years is between 0 and 5, or on average 2.17± 0.51 (SD=1.69) per year, with a clear downward trend (Fig. 1).
FIG. 1 Distribution of the number of cases (n) over 1965-2005. on the background of their downward trend.
In the group under study, there were 83 (96.51± 3.95% males and only 3 (3.49±20.77 %) females, which makes a significant difference (t=8.63, Ñ€220) are 41 or 47.67±15.29%, and those caused by low voltage (V<220) are 18 (20.93 ±18.76%), which is a significant difference (t=2.99, Ñ€220) in 47.67% or low voltage (V<220) in 20.93%.
4. In contact with high voltage, in 55.46% death was due to work with a power transformer or arc welding machine or contact with a live wire.
5. Wednesday proves to be the most hazardous day of the week, as well as spring-summer period of the year.
References:
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2. Lipscomb HJ, Dement JM, Rodriguez-Acosta R. Deaths from external causes of injury among construction workers in north carolina, 1988-1994. Appl Occup Environ Hyg. 2000;15(7):569-80.
3. Lysenco Ð?. Internet: Programme al calendar v254r, 2005
4. Taylor A. J, G McGwin, Jr, F Valent1 and L W. Rue Fatal occupational electrocutions in the united states. Inj Prev 2002;8:306-312
5. Wick R, Gilbert JD, Simpson E, Byard RW. Fatal electrocution in adults--A 30-YEAR STUDY. Med Sci Law. 2006;46(2):166-72.
