Fatal Falls from Height in Taiwan

Abstract

This study conducts an investigation of fatal falls from height, examines gender differences, and compares our findings with those of Western countries. We review deaths in Taiwan caused by falls from height that underwent forensic autopsy from 1994 to 2010. Among the examined cases, 182 were suicide, 156 were accidents, and 18 were homicides. Men who fell from greater heights had a lower probability of fatal head trauma (p = 0.045), and women exhibited a lower fatal head trauma rate when falling from heights of between 10 and 25 m in accident group (p = 0.003). There was no significant difference between cases of falling from greater and lower heights within the suicide group (p = 0.834). Psychiatric illness was only reported in 20.3% and 28.8% cases in suicide and accident groups. Only in male cases was the use of psychotropic substances higher in the suicide groups than in the accident groups (p = 0.047).

Falls from Height in the Construction Industry: A Critical Review of the Scientific Literature

“…They may lead to death. After the physical injury which has had a direct influence on a worker’s body, in some cases, a psychiatric illness may also occur due to the loss of a job opportunity or from having a permanent disability [ 19 ]. Table 9 lists the major effects of FFH incidents according to the studies.…”

“…Regionally, construction workers face heat, cold, rain or windy weather. The trades most exposed to weather conditions are carpenters and roofers, as shown in Table 3 [ 19 , 29 , 80 ]. It is not possible to change the weather, so the workers’ behaviours need modifications based on the weather [ 16 ].…”

The circumstances and characteristics of fatal falls in Victoria, Australia: a descriptive study

“…Furthermore, the majority of the psychoactive drugs in the sample were associated with falls from height. The mental effects from these drugs have been noted to impair cognitive functioning, which has been associated with causing an individual to jump 7,9,68,69 , and thus there may be some correlation between drug use and the high number of suicides from height in Victoria.…”

Yaşlılık Döneminde Ağaçtan Düşmeye Bağlı Ölümlerin Değerlendirilmesi

“…Yüksekten düşme sonucu oluşan ölümcül yaralanmaların en sık kafa bölgesinde olduğu bilinmektedir (1,7,9,10,21,24). Tayvan'da yüksekten düşmeye bağlı ölüm olgularının değerlendirildiği bir çalışmada, olguların % 69,8'inde ölümün kafa travması sonucu meydana geldiği bildirilmiştir (24).…”