Lower extremity impairments from a forensic medicine perspective: A descriptive study

Abstract

This study examines disability and incapacity assessments and forensic medical processes related to lower extremity fractures. Reports prepared by the Forensic Medicine Council, Faculty of Medicine, Afyonkarahisar Health Sciences University, between 2022 and 2024 were retrospectively analyzed. As a result of the forensic medical evaluation, 1.89% of the cases (n=13) were excluded due to the inability to establish a causal relationship between the injury and the accident, 1.31% (n=9) were excluded due to previous injuries in the same region, and 1.31% (n=9) showed simulated findings. The Forensic Medicine Board reports prepared on the cases included in the study were evaluated within the scope of the 'Regulation on Disability Assessment for Adults' (in Turkish: Erişkinler İçin Engellilik Değerlendirmesi Hakkında Yönetmelik) rates. Of the 649 cases included in the study, 70.9% were male, and the most common cause of injury was traffic accidents (98.6%; n=640). The average disability rate in all cases was found to be 9.86% (SD=7.856) [11.59 (SD=8.965) for surgically treated cases, and 7.14 (SD=4.505) for conservatively treated cases]. It was observed that upper extremity injuries (22.8%) frequently accompanied lower extremity injuries. In orthopedic examination, joint motion restriction was more common with femur fractures, and leg length discrepancy was more frequently observed with femur, tibia, and multiple lower extremity fractures (p<0.05). No significant difference was found between atrophy and fracture sites. In forensic medical impairment assessments, establishing causality and accurately determining disability rates and recovery processes are crucial in legal proceedings.