Patterned injuries caused by wooden plank

Abstract

Wooden planks of different dimensions are commonly used in construction of buildings, fence of houses, bullock-carts and walls of huts. There is plenty of opportunity for wooden plants to be used as assault implements. Three cases of homicide are reported. In each case a wooden plank was the weapon of offence. The causes of death were respectively anal impalement injury, liver rupture and head injury. Case 1: A 30-year-old man who was beaten by a wooden plank and had it inserted per anum was found alive by a police officer after ∼48h. He sustained multiple patterned contused abrasions and death was attributed to purulent peritonitis due to perforation of small intestine by the wooden plank. Case 2: A 50-year-old man working as a security guard at a building construction site was killed by his 21-year-old son by beating him with a wooden plank found around the construction site. The deceased sustained multiple contusions, abrasions, typical patterned contused abrasions and lacerations externally. Death was attributed to shock due to ruptured liver. Case 3: A 13-year-old female was killed by her 19-year-old male paternal cousin with one stroke of a wooden plank over head. At autopsy she was having a lacerated wound to forehead below which there was a patterned fracture of skull. Death was attributed to sub-arachnoid hemorrhage following head injury.We have recorded peculiar patterned abrasions, patterned fracture with wooden fragment and part of impaled wooden plank in abdominal cavity. These types of injuries are rare. The cases emphasise the need for accurate description of these injuries with photographs in order to achieve effective evaluation and recognition of this type of patterned wounds as they correspond to specific weapons.