Medico-legal Aspects of Acute Spinal Injuries At Trauma Unit of Assiut University Hospital

A medico-legal case (MLC) applies to any case of injury or medical condition in which law enforcement agencies seek to investigate and fix the responsibility regarding the said injury or medical condition. From a physician's perspective, a MLC is a medical or clinical case with legal implications. In such cases presented directly to the hospital, after obtaining a detailed history and examination of the patient, the physician concludes the need for the law enforcement administration to investigate further. Besides, such cases could also be referred to the physician by the law enforcement administration for application of medical expertise and opinion to aid in the administration of justice .

Trauma is the 6th leading cause of death worldwide resulting in 5 million of all deaths. It is the 5th leading cause of significant disability . In Egypt, injuries the fifth leading cause of death and the most common cause of hospitalization and account for at least 1/4 of all inpatient(World Health Organization 2009). Spine is one of the body parts that is commonly subjected to trauma . Traumatic spinal injuries as seen from a medico-legal point of view, is an integral part of medical practice in emergency department..

SCI is associated with permanent disability and decreased life expectancy .Although more than 80% of the world's population live in the more than 100 developing countries, little information is available regarding the epidemiology of SCI in these countries . The higher prevalence of TSI may be due to the increased frequency of events causing injury, such as road traffic accidents (RTAs), and higher rates of occupational-related incidents, such as falls from trees .

Permanent infirmity is a major sequel of spinal fractures, it is considered as a legal as well as a medical problem. Physician should be oriented about the legal issues of compensation to help them in saving patients' rights . The cervical spinal cord is the most commonly affected level, followed by the thoracic and lumbar . Lower thoracic lesions can cause paraplegia while lesions at cervical level are associated with quadriplegia.

Concerning the mechanisms of injury, they differ in different age groups: common causes are road accidents, followed by traumas caused by falls, attacks, sports, or occupational-related Incidents . Imaging investigations showing different types of spinal cord injuries including fracture, dislocation, damage to the intervertebral discs, ligament tear, vascular affection, and associated injures . TSI occurs more frequently and has worse outcomes in low and middle-income countries than in high-income countries .