An unusual work-related fatality: the importance of scene investigation combined with autopsy findings

Transorbital penetrating intracranial injuries are uncommon amongst the civilian population, but they can be found in fatal work-related accidents. An unusual case of accidental fatal penetrating intracranial injury in a 44-year-old man at work is reported. He was working in a building site driving a tractor with a rear- mounted flail mower. While he was mowing grass close to a crane, he became unconscious and then comatose. A cranium X-Ray and a brain CAT scan taken before he died revealed the presence of a metallic foreign body in the left occipital area that had penetrated the left eyelid and orbital bone. At autopsy, a fragment of a frayed electrical copper cable was found stuck in the brain. Investigation at the scene found a cable with the same characteristics of the fragment recovered from the victim's brain protruding from the ground just beneath the tractor. It was concluded that the mower blades had severed the cable and propelled a fragment of it upwards, striking the man in the head.