A Life-Altering Incident: Heavy Object Falling on Head Caused Fatal Cervical Spine Fracture in 18-Year-Old Worker
In September 2022, the Journal of Orthopaedic Case Reports published a troubling case involving an 18‑year‑old male worker in India who sustained a severe cervical spine injury after a heavy metallic object fell directly on the front of his head while he was at work. This rare and catastrophic injury led to a retropulsion fracture of the C5 vertebral body, associated with a C6 fracture, and despite emergency care, the victim died two days later. This is the first recorded case of such injury morphology that defies standard classification systems.