Evaluation of disability reports requested by judicial authorities for individuals under 18 years of age from the department of forensic medicine between 2023–2025

Aim: This study aimed to retrospectively evaluate disability reports prepared for individuals aged 0–18 years due to injury-related disability in terms of trauma origin, demographic characteristics of individuals, injury sites, and the presence of special needs.

Material and Methods: In this retrospective study, 47 cases under the age of 18 for whom disability reports were requested by courts from the Department of Forensic Medicine, İnönü University between 2023–2025 were evaluated in accordance with judicial requests. Evaluation parameters were determined as age, gender, nationality, season, injury sites, bone fracture, requested regulation, and injury origin. The obtained data were analyzed using IBM SPSS Statistics 22.

Results: Of the cases evaluated in accordance with disability regulations, 33 were male (70.2%) and 14 were female (29.8%). The mean age of the cases was calculated as 11.7. It was observed that traffic accidents constituted the largest proportion of injuries, and in 42 of 47 cases (89.4%), disability occurred due to traffic accidents. Bone fractures were observed in 40 of the cases (85.1%). It was observed that 16 of the 47 cases (34%) occurred in the summer season.

Conclusion: The determination of traffic accidents as the most common cause of disability highlights the importance of traffic safety in our country. It is of our opinion that taking appropriate measures to minimize injuries, ensuring effective deterrence, full compliance with occupational safety measures and traffic rules, and awareness trainings will minimize these adverse outcomes and prevent anatomical and functional losses that individuals may experience.