The present work entitled study of Patterns of Cranio-cerebral Injuries in Deaths due to Fatal Vehicular Accidents was undertaken at Forensic Medicine Department at M. R. Medical College, Gulbarga. The objective of the study is to find out the magnitude of the problem with reference to different host factors and to analyze the significance of nature of injury and the part of the brain injured with the time of survival and also to study the patterns of cranio-cerebral injuries in deaths due to fatal vehicular accidents. In this study 128 cases of head injury victims in fatal vehicular accidents autopsied from June 2003 to June 2008 were included. Maximum cases of road traffic accidents were among males (88%), male to female ratio was 5:1 and maximum incidence was in the age group of 21-40 years comprising 55%. Most common victims were pedestrians (36%) followed by occupants (34%) and drivers (25%). Incidence was more common among the four wheeler vehicles. Temporal (20%) and frontal (20%) bones were the commonest sites of fracture. Subdural hemorrhage was the commonest among the intracranial hemorrhages seen in 40% cases.

Keywords: Cranio-cerebral injuries, Vehicular accidents.