Forensic characteristics of 4866 violent injury cases in Sichuan Province, China

Abstract To evaluate the characteristics of violent injury cases in Sichuan Province, China. Overall, 4866 violent injury cases in Sichuan province, China from 2014 to 2017 were included. The injury evaluation report was used to classify and summarize the injury information, case and injury characteristics, and to describe the characteristics for each risk factor. The majority of cases were males (n = 3851, 79.14%), aged 20–60 (n = 3867, 79.47%), and living in rural areas (n = 3094, 65.55%). Many cases occurred in public areas (n = 3351, 74.19%) and in the evening (n = 1005, 29.49%). Passion was the main motive for the violent injuries (n = 2098, 82.11%) and the main types of injuries were those to the brain, face, and auricula (n = 3075, 63.21%). Blunt instruments (n = 2951, 64.86%) were most commonly used to inflict injury, and the injury evaluation determined that the majority of injuries were simple (n = 2669, 54.85%) and slight (n = 1685, 34.63%). For cases resulting from passion and money, blunt instruments were more commonly used, while sharp instruments were more commonly used for injuries resulting from emotion and revenge ( p < 0.05). Compared with grievous injuries, public and entertainment areas and the use of blunt instruments were risk factors for slight injuries. The use of blunt instruments was a risk factor for simple injuries. The cases of violent injury in the Sichuan Province of China have certain characteristics and causes. In order to reduce the frequency of such cases, corresponding intervention measures should be actively conducted at the identified high risk places, times, and populations.