Severity of free-fall injury.

Free-falls frequently result in death in the United Kingdom. The injuries sustained by free-fall victims are often misdiagnosed. The severity of deceleration injuries sustained by 28 free-fall victims, as assessed by the Injury Severity Score, was shown to be related to the height of the fall. A high proportion of visceral injuries resulted when patients fell from a height of 6.1 m or more. It is recommended that patients injured as a result of a fall from such a height should be sent to a major accident centre. Only by appreciating the potential severity of injury sustained by free-fall victims, usually related to the height of the fall, may earlier and more accurate diagnosis be made and appropriate management instituted.