A Case of Freakish Friction Burn

Abstract

The role of a forensic physician in identification of the type of mechanical injury and the manner of causation is important for the  legal system. Injuries sustained to the neck, often in isolation (without any associated injuries on body) in a living or dead victim can  appear suspicious to clinicians who lack forensic training. The suspicion is doubled if the patient or victim is a female. If the manner  of causation is dubious, the treating doctor is required to notify the nearest police station along with preparation of a wound  certificate. Unnecessarily burdening the judicial system by intimating all cases of wound certification can be avoided. This is possible  by only referring those cases that actually require an investigation by a police officer. Therefore, arriving at a reasonable conclusion  about the manner of injury causation in a casualty is very important. Neck injuries may be from assault by another, self-inflicted as in  suicidal attempt or accidental. This case report is the first published work on the forensic assessment of a suspicious friction burn on  the neck of a female patient.