Background Accidents with nail guns are rather common, especially in the construction industry. Most injuries involve the extremities and several present with intracerebral injuries. When the patient is unconscious, it can be a big challenge to determine whether the injury is an accident, self-inflicted or a criminal act.
Case presentation A 43-year-old male worker was brought to the emergency department after his coworkers had found him on the floor in the cafeteria at work. He was admitted to the hospital due to a possible apoplexy. The CT scan revealed a nail in his skull and acute surgery was performed. The forensic examination showed lesions of intracranial surgery and minor bruises on the arms. No sign of defense injuries was found. There were no signs of malfunction of the nail gun-wielding robot. On the side of the machine, there were a handheld nail gun and the police investigated the case as a possible criminal act. They found bloodstains on the back of the machine. When awake, the man explained, that by accident, he had hit his head against a nail gun and as a result of this, the nail gun delivered a nail into his skull.
Conclusion Sometimes, the circumstances of a case are not clear and the investigators need to work with more than one theory. In criminal cases, it is important to carry out the forensic examination as soon as possible to preserve the trace evidence. In this case, the investigation of the scene of the accident disproved that a crime was committed.
