Cutaneous Lichtenberg figures from lightning strike

Post-electric Burn Injury to the Calvarium: A Case Report of a High-Tension Wire Burn With Bone Penetration

Electrical injuries can be horrifying, leading to physical trauma to the patient, along with emotional and financial trauma to the patient and their relatives. Electrical injuries to the calvarium are especially devastating, particularly when they involve high-voltage electricity. Electric injuries can be associated with multiple types of trauma, including burns, scars (Lichtenberg figures), and fractures resulting from falls or muscular spasms. We present a unique case report of post-electric burns (caused by a high-tension wire) over the calvarium, resulting in a lightning-shaped burn partially penetrating the bone. The effect of electrical injury on bone is less well understood, and evidence of such burn injuries should be made aware.

Investigation of the skin lesions in lightning strike death

Lightning strike-related deaths are unusual, and the victim bodies can present different lesions due to the different injury mechanisms associated with this event. Since the post mortem assessment can be challenging, the evaluation of the characteristics of the skin lesions becomes fundamental to reconstruct the event. Due to the paucity of literature on this topic, the authors report the case of a 59-year-old man found dead near his home after a thunderstorm. Initially considered a murder by gunshot, the autopsy revealed the typical lightning strike lesions, also known as Lichtenberg figures. The adequate interpretation of the autopsy data and the histological evidences allowed to reconstruct the death dynamic and to relate it to a lightning strike. The main lesions due to lightening are here reported and discussed in order to provide a workflow for the identification of lightening as cause of death in unwitnessed cases.