Journal de recherche médico-légale

Death by Facial and Skull Injuries of a Motorcyclist Wearing a Full-Face Helmet: Case Report and Literature Review

Abstract

Elvira Ventura-Spagnolo, Cristina Mondello, Luigi Cardia, Orazio Ventura-Spagnolo and Giulio Cardia

We describe a case of death by facial and skull fractures with brain injuries of a motorcyclist wearing a full-face helmet. A 40-year-old man driving a high-powered motorcycle crashed violently into the rear of a stopped car. The main results from the autopsy revealed the deformation of the left orbito-zygomatic and fronto-temporoparietal regions corresponding to bone fractures with laceration at the left temporal lobe. The CT scan of the helmet revealed the detachment of the energy-absorbing liner. Moreover an impact speed of 93 Km/h resulted from the analysis of accident dynamics. We analysed the literature regarding the effectiveness of full-face helmets in reducing the risk of fatality and we sought the factors that may have deleted the protection offered. The lesions causing death were due to high speed and probably the inadequacy of the helmet.