Forensic investigation into a death: post-traumatic amnesia in a worker with a work-related head injury sustained in a coal-fired thermal power plant in India
- 1Department of Surgery, Sri Balaji Medical college, Royal Balaji hospital, Chromepet, Chennai 600044
- 2Mèdecins Sans Frontiérs International (MSF), Amsterdam, The Netherlands
- Correspondence to Venkiteswaran Muralidhar, murlidharv{at}gmail.com
- Accepted 27 January 2017
- Published 15 March 2017
Summary
This is the first reported case of a work-related head injury in a coal-fired thermal power plant in India. This case highlights the trend of not reporting work injuries due to fears of reprisal from the management team that may include the termination of employment. Post-traumatic amnesia in a worker presenting with head trauma must be recognised by coworkers, so the cause of injury can be elicited early and the victim gets timely medical help. There are few published studies on work-related traumatic brain injury, and they provide no information on either anatomical localisation or signs and symptoms. It is imperative that this under-researched area is studied, so detailed epidemiology and accurate national and global statistics are made available to address this dangerous yet preventable condition.
Footnotes
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Competing interests None declared.
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Patient consent Obtained.
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Provenance and peer review Not commissioned; externally peer reviewed.