LIGHTNING

Introduction
• Lightning is a form of high voltage current electricity.

• A bolt of lighting is produced when the charged under

surface of a storm cloud discharge its electrical charge to
earth .
 Characteristics of current
• This current is direct current (D.C.)
• The voltage of this current is 100 to 1000
million volts.
• The amperage of this current is 10,000 to
20,000 amp.
• A flash of lightening lasts for 1/1000th of a
second.
 Effects of Lightning
• Seen in an area of 30 meters in diameter.
• It may injure or kill a person by-
a. Direct strike
b. Side flash
c. Conduction through another object.
 Direct Strike
 it occurs when the lightning stroke attaches directly
to the victim, and probably occurs no more often
than 3 to 5% of injuries.

 While it is intuitive that direct strike might be the

most likely to cause fatalities.
 Contact Injury
• It occurs when the person is touching or holding
an object to which lightning attaches such as
wire fencing or indoor hard wired telephones or
plumbing, transmitting the current to the person.
Lightning rod or lightning
conductor
 Side Flash or Splash
• It is the most frequent cause of injury 30 to 35% .

• Side flashes occur when lightning that has hit

an object such as a tree or building travels partly
down that object before a portion “jumps” to a
nearby victim. Standing under or close to trees and
other tall objects is a very common way in which
people are splashed.

• It also occurs from person to person.

 Mechanism of action
Injuries result due to-
• Electric current
• Heat
• Expanded and displaced air (blast wave)
 Post-mortem Appearances
• Clothes may be –
a. Burnt or torn at the point of entrance and exit.
b. Stripped off and thrown to some distance.
c. Burnt but no injury to the person.
d. Not burnt but the person is killed.
• The expanded or displaced air cause disruptive or blast
like lesions- contusion, lacerations, fractures, etc.
• Belts and boots may be ruptured.
• Rigor mortis may appear soon and pass off quickly.
• Extensive ecchymoses may be seen on skin of trunk.
• Signs of asphyxia are present.
• Subarachnoid and intracranial bleeding may occur.
 Burns
• The burns maybe :
• Linear : the are often found in moist creases and folds of
the skin .
• Arborescent or Filigree burns: they are superficial thin
irregular and tortuous marking on the skin
• Surface burns : they are true burns and occur beneath
metallic objects worn or carried by the person which are
fused by the flash.
Arborescent or filigree burns
 Cause of death
• Involvement of CNS with paralysis of
respiratory centre causes death .
• Multiple rupture of viscera
• Charring
• Neurogenic shock
• Multiple fractures
 Medico-legal aspect
Less than half of person struck by lightning are killed .
Death is always due to accident, sometimes
appearance left on human body closely resemble those
produced by criminal Violence .

Thus a person maybe found dead in an open field or on

highway and body may show contusions ,fractures ..etc
in such cases the diagnosis should be based on the
history of a thunderstorm in the locality , evidence of
effect of the lightning in the vicinity of the body and
fusion of metallic substance.
THANK YOU