<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"><p>Spinal injury following direct loading of the head and neck is a rare sequel of bicycle crashes. Fatal head injuries following bicycle crashes have been described in great detail and safety measures such as bicycle helmets have been developed accordingly. Less frequently, however, potentially severe cervical spine injuries have been described. We present the case of a middle-aged female who sustained an ultimately fatal cervical spine injury following a collision with a car whilst biking wearing a helmet. We discuss the literature regarding the protective effects of bicycle helmets, the relevance to cervical spine injury and legislation on mandatory use of helmets for injury prevention.</p></abstract>

Spinal injury following direct loading of the head and neck is a rare sequel of bicycle crashes. Fatal head injuries following bicycle crashes have been described in great detail and safety measures such as bicycle helmets have been developed accordingly. Less frequently, however, potentially severe cervical spine injuries have been described. We present the case of a middle-aged female who sustained an ultimately fatal cervical spine injury following a collision with a car whilst biking wearing a helmet. We discuss the literature regarding the protective effects of bicycle helmets, the relevance to cervical spine injury and legislation on mandatory use of helmets for injury prevention.

Fatal Cervical Spine Injury Following a Bicycle Crash

Paraclinical Imaging Studies Group (PIMAS)

Scandinavian Journal of Forensic Science

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.

{"article-title":"Fatal Cervical Spine Injury Following a Bicycle Crash"}

Spinal injury following direct loading of the head and neck is a rare sequel of bicycle crashes. Fatal head injuries following bicycle crashes have been...

Fatal Cervical Spine Injury Following a Bicycle Crash

Published Online: Aug 22, 2017

Page range: 3 - 6

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1515/sjfs-2017-0002

Keywords
fatal bicycle trauma, bicycle helmet, road traffic crash, cervical spine injury, medicolegal autopsy, post-mortem computed tomography

© 2017 Danish Society of Forensic Medicine

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.

Fatal Cervical Spine Injury Following a Bicycle Crash

Published Online: Aug 22, 2017

Page range: 3 - 6

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1515/sjfs-2017-0002

Keywordsfatal bicycle trauma, bicycle helmet, road traffic crash, cervical spine injury, medicolegal autopsy, post-mortem computed tomography

© 2017 Danish Society of Forensic Medicine

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.

Keywords
fatal bicycle trauma, bicycle helmet, road traffic crash, cervical spine injury, medicolegal autopsy, post-mortem computed tomography