Fatal injury of a skier during school training – case report
Authors:
Lukáš Hamerlik 1; Marek Vitovják 1; Michal Kováč 2; Jozef Šidlo 3
Authors‘ workplace:
Ústav soudního lékařství a medicínského práva, Fakultní nemocnice Olomouc, Olomouc, Česká republika
1; Súdnolekárske a patologickoanatomické pracovisko, Úrad pre dohľad nad zdravotnou starostlivosťou, Banská Bystrica, Slovenská republika
2; Ústav súdneho lekárstva, Lekárska fakulta, Univerzita Komenského v Bratislave, Bratislava, Slovenská republika
3
Published in:
Soud Lék., 69, 2024, No. 1, p. 10-12
Category:
Original Article
Overview
The authors present the case of a fatal accident of a 16-year-old skier who crashed into a tree during a downhill skiing lesson at school. Although the skier was wearing a protective helmet at the time of the accident and his condition did not appear to be too serious immediately after the accident, he later died in hospital as a result of a craniocerebral injury with cerebral contusion and intracranial haemorrhage. His life could not be saved even by immediate neurosurgery, during which fragments of the broken protective helmet were removed from his cranial cavity. By analysing the international literature, the authors identify head and brain injuries as the most common immediate cause of death in downhill skiing and provide insights into the possibilities of preventing these injuries by simple technical means on the part of ski area operators. These means are in particular protective covers for lift columns and protective nets placed in front of fixed, non-movable obstacles on the track.
Keywords:
fatal injuries to skiers – craniocerebral injuries to skiers – use of protective ski helmets – prevention of injuries to skiers
Sources
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Labels
Anatomical pathology Forensic medical examiner ToxicologyArticle was published in
Forensic Medicine
2024 Issue 1
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