German, 3 pages, 3 figures
Keywords: Forensic Medicine, Reconstruction, violent death, trauma biomechanics

The appliance of technical knowledge in the field of forensic medicine is crucial for the reconstruction of traumatic events of accidental or criminal origin. Knowledge of biomechanical processes permit to evaluate cause and effects of traumatic events in an objective manner – especially in civil lawsuit cases. An objective assessment of the injury potential of a rear and collision allows to decide whether the so-called whiplash associated disorder of a given patient is indeed of traumatic origin or is overlaid by functional or degenerative problems. Of course many „classical“ homicidal cases can be elucidated with the help of technical experts in forensic science. The pattern of a skull fracture, e.g., gives clues whether an individual has fractured his or her skull due to a fall or whether the skull has been shattered by a blunt object in a homicidal intention.