Occupational death due to bilateral carotid artery occlusion – A medico-legal case report

• Occupational death due to bilateral carotid artery occlusion.
• The victim was unconscious throughout with a GCS score of 5/15.
• The authors have described the correlation between the distribution of the injuries with the manner a saree is worn.
• Issues of negligence have been highlighted by the authors.
• Some suggestions have been offered with a view to decrease the incidences of occupational ligature strangulation.

Occupational deaths are work-related deaths and usually occur in the work place of an individual. A case of occupational death in a female factory worker has been described, where the saree she was wearing accidentally got entangled in the moving belt and caused ligature strangulation. She was unconscious throughout indicating bilateral occlusion of the carotids and died a day after the incident. The authors have described the correlation between the distribution of the injuries on the body and the manner a saree is worn. Investigation of the workplace revealed that the place where she was standing was located between two machines, and the space was inadequate for normal movement. Some suggestions have been offered which may decrease the incidences of occupational ligature strangulation due to entanglement of dress materials in the moving machineries.