Laryngohyoid fractures after agonal falls: not always a certain sign of strangulation

Haemorrhagic fractures of the thyroid cartilage and hyoid bone are frequently observed in cases of strangulation and often regarded as evidence for an assault against the neck. In contrast, two cases of laryngohyoid fractures after agonal falls in prone position are presented to draw attention to alternative causes of these injuries with special regard to practical medicolegal casework. A 45-year-old man collapsed at a fairground and died after unsuccessful resuscitation. He showed excoriations at his elbows and right knee, a crush injury at the mentum and his mandibular front teeth were knocked out. The upper parts of the chest and the head showed blue discolouration as a marked sign of congestion due to heart failure. The right coronary artery (RCA) was completely obturated by a 5 cm long post-stenotic thrombus with subsequent myocardial infarction of the lateral part of the left ventricle. Both superior horns of the thyroid cartilage were fractured with surrounding haemorrhage, the skin and muscles of the neck uninjured. In the second case, a 63-year-old woman with a mobility handicap had fallen from a 2m high lifting platform and was found in prone position with her wheelchair on her. Resuscitation efforts were not successful. Autopsy showed signs of blunt external force against head, neck, chest and limbs. Examination of the neck revealed haemorrhage of the right sternocleidomastoid muscle, both superior horns of the thyroid cartilage were fractured, as well as the hyoid bone, with slight haemorrhage of the surrounding soft tissue and mucosa. On the same level, the fifth intervertebral disk was ruptured, without any injury of the spinal cord. These cases demonstrate that laryngohyoid fractures should not be overestimated as unequivocal indication of neck compression and may well be caused by falls, even at ground level.