Medico legal aspects of injuries sustained by occupants of three wheelers in road traffic crashes: a study conducted in a tertiary care hospital in the central province of Sri Lanka

Introduction: Injuries and death due to road traffic accidents (RTA) are a major public health problem in third world countries like Sri Lanka. Sixteen percent of all vehicles used in Sri Lanka are three-wheelers. Statistics reveal a high incidence of impacts involving three-wheelers in Sri Lanka.

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Objectives: To determine the nature of the incident, nature of injuries and mechanism of causation of injury due to road traffic crashes among patients admitted to a tertiary care unit in Kandy, Sri Lanka.

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Methodology: Data on socio-demographic profile, type of occupant, nature of the incident, mechanism of causation of injury, type of injury, region of the body affected and severity of injury were retrieved from Medico-Legal Examination Forms (MLEF)of patients admitted after three-wheeler crashes to the Teaching Hospital Peradeniya from 2016 to 2018. Data were analyzed using SPSS VERSION22.

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Results: The commonest incident was the toppling of the vehicle (55%). Most injuries were sustained by the impact on an object inside the three-wheeler (44%). The commonest injury seen was abrasion (63%) and the majority of injuries were non-grievous (68%). Lower limb was the most affected (45%). More rear passengers were injured than drivers (62%). There was no significant difference in injury pattern between driver and rear passenger group.

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Conclusion: Toppling was the commonest type of incident with most injuries being abrasions and sustained by rear-seat passengers by the impact on objects within the three-wheeler.

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Recommendations: It is imperative that drivers and passengers are educated regarding safety measures and traffic laws