Medicolegal evaluation of occupational accident cases who applied to Akdeniİz University Hospital between 2017-2022

Occupational accidents are a problem that affects millions of people every year in our country and in the world. Our study aims to contribute to the literature in terms of determining the policies to be established to take measures by evaluating the causes and consequences of occupational accidents. In our study, the records of the cases admitted to Antalya Akdeniz University Faculty of Medicine's Hospital between 1 January 2017 and 31 December 2022 due to occupational accidents were examined; 7442 cases were included in our study. Work accidents occurred at least in 2020, and even statistically significantly fewer cases were seen in the spring of 2020. It was determined that the majority of cases had health insurance, this rate was similar in male and female cases, but this rate decreased in foreign worker cases. The most common occupational accident sector was construction sector (13.7%) and the most common accident location was construction site (17.9%). In our study, the most common type of occupational accident was determined as injury with piercing and cutting tools (23.9%) in both male and female gender. It was found that 42.3% (n=2998) of the cases were using machine-tool. It was observed that machine-tool use was statistically significantly higher in petroleum-chemical-plastics-pharmaceutical industry and wood and paper, health and social services, metal, automotive industry, shipbuilding and maritime transport sectors. It was found that 1909 (26,9%) of the occupational accident cases admitted to the emergency service were soft tissue injuries, 1760 (24,8%) were incision-laseration, 1221 (17,2%) were eye injuries and 1075 (15,2%) were fracture-dislocation type injuries. Incision, soft tissue injury, burn and intoxication cases were significantly higher in females, while fracture-dislocation, tendon injury, intracerebral haemorrhage, vascular injury, amputation, eye injury and internal organ damage were significantly higher in males. The most common injury body part was found in the upper extremity (n=3525, 49.7%) and the second most common injury was found in the head and neck region (n=2058, 29,0%).It was determined that 5287 (74.6%) of the occupational accident cases admitted to the emergency service were discharged from the emergency service with a cure and 1452 (20.5%) of them received inpatient treatment. It was found that all (n=33) of the patients who were admitted to the hospital and died in the emergency department or in the clinic where they received inpatient treatment were male and the most common occupational accidents occurred in the construction sector and due to falls. It was recorded that %32.1 of the cases admitted to the emergency service due to occupational accidents had an outpatient clinic application related to occupational accidents after discharge. It was found that 192 (4.1%) of the patients admitted to the emergency service who have, form that filled according to emergency examinaton, had a life-threatening injury, while 4465 (95.5%) did not have a life-threatening injury. Mild injuries that could be treated with simple medical intervention were found to be significantly higher in women. Among all occupational accident cases (n=7442) admitted to the hospital between 2017 and 2022, the number of those with a forensic report was 272 (3.7%). According to report types, it was determined that the most common type of report was a forensic report (n=221, 81.3%). In 78.3% (n=173) of the forensic reports issued in the department, there was no life-threatening situation, while there was life-threatening situation in 20.8% (n=46). It was concluded that in 79.2% (n=175) of the forensic report, the injury could be treated with a simple medical intervention, whereas in %19.9 (n=44) of the definitive report, the injury could not be treated with a simple medical intervention. Our study has shown that prevention and reduction of occupational accidents is possible by raising awareness of both employers and employees about occupational safety. The findings obtained in this study show that increasing occupational safety trainings, regular machine maintenance and inspections, especially in high-risk sectors, can significantly reduce accidents.