Electrical injuries and deaths
Electrical injuries and deaths occur when electricity passes through the human body, leading to varying levels of harm, from minor injuries to fatal outcomes. These incidents are frequently accidental and can often go unnoticed externally, complicating investigations into the cause of death. The human body, primarily composed of water, is particularly susceptible to electrical damage, as electricity travels easily through fluid. High-risk environments for electrical injuries include bathrooms and bodies of water, where wet conditions increase the dangers associated with electrical appliances.
The severity of injury or death is influenced by the current's intensity and duration of exposure. Short bursts of electricity may cause pain that prompts a person to let go of the source, while stronger currents can induce muscle spasms, preventing escape and resulting in severe internal damage. Fatalities are more likely when the electrical current travels through critical areas, such as the chest or brain stem, leading to cardiac arrest or respiratory failure. While external signs of electrocution may be minimal, forensic examinations can reveal characteristic burn marks that indicate the entry and exit points of electrical current. Men are more commonly affected by electrical injuries, although women also experience such incidents, with unique risks for pregnant individuals.
Subject Terms
Electrical injuries and deaths
DEFINITION: Injuries or death caused by electricity passing through the body.
SIGNIFICANCE: Death from electrocution often leaves no external signs, and investigators must determine the cause of death from the circumstances. Sometimes, however, forensic pathologists are able to detect marks on the body of a person killed by electricity that show the entry or exit of the electrical current; in other cases, internal injuries may indicate electrocution.
Most injuries and deaths resulting from contact with electricity are accidental. The human body is very susceptible to injuries and death from electricity because the body is made up mostly of water and other types of fluids, and electricity passes through water with low resistance. When electricity passes through a body, it causes damage, sometimes massive damage, to tissues. If the body is wet it has even less resistance, causing higher currents to pass through and thus more tissue damage. Many electrocutions occur in bathrooms, where wet skin and electrical appliances make a deadly combination, or in bodies of water, such as lakes. Electrical injuries are more common in men than in women, but women do experience such injuries. In pregnant women, electric shock may cause miscarriage.
How Electricity Causes Death
The amount of tissue damage and whether death occurs from electric shock depends on how large the electrical current is and how long it continues to run through the body. Generally, when a person touches something emitting an electrical current, the resulting pain causes the person to release the object before any tissue damage occurs. If the electrical current is strong enough, however, it causes the muscles to contract in a spasm, and the person is unable to let go of the object emitting the current. The longer the body stays in contact with this object, the more electrical current flows through the body and the more damage is done to tissues and internal organs. Long contact with a high current of electricity can cause the heart to begin to beat irregularly, leading to cardiac arrest.
Contact with high-voltage power cables generally does not cause cardiac arrest. This kind of electrical contact is more likely to cause serious internal burns and damage to organs and tissues, which can cause death. If the current passes through the brain stem, where breathing is controlled, the result can be respiratory failure.
The possibility of death from contact with electricity is increased when the electric current passes through the chest or head. Contact with electrical current of more than 250 volts generally causes death, but death may also result from current as low as 32 volts.
Signs of Electrocution
External signs of electrocution may be minimal and hardly noticeable, or they may be obvious, such as severe burns. If the circumstances surrounding a death point to electrocution and no obvious signs are visible, the forensic pathologist will often examine the victim’s hands for small burn marks or marks that look like blisters with white rims and dark centers. Such marks, which are characteristic of the entry and exit points of electrical current, are also sometimes found on body parts other than the hands, such as the feet.
Bibliography
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