An unusual case of suicide: Near decapitation by a modified table saw

Abstract

Accidental table saw injuries are common and approximately 30,000-40,000 injuries by table saw occur in the United States annually [1]. While 85% of injuries are caused by unwanted contact with the blade, the remainder of injuries are caused by kickback [1]. However, table saw-inflicted accidental injuries are rarely fatal [2].To date, there are no reports of homicides or homicidal attempts using table saws in the scientific literature and there are only a few reported suicide cases [3][4][5][6][7]. In suicide cases, usually the neck or the head is targeted [6], but there has been one case in which other body parts were targeted [3]. The mechanism of death is usually exsanguination. This report presents a rare case of suicide caused by a modified table saw that resulted in near decapitation. | C A S E REP ORTA man received an email from his 51-year-old brother that he was planning to commit suicide. He rushed to his brother's house, and as he looked through the window of the wooden outbuilding, he spotted the blood-soaked body of his brother lying with his head on a table saw. He called the emergency services and turned off the outside situated fuse thus stopping the rotating saw. The locked door