Akademik Veri Yönetim Sistemi
Ulusal Travma ve Acil Cerrahi Dergisi, cilt.32, sa.4, ss.437-447, 2026 (SCI-Expanded, Scopus, TRDizin)
BACKGROUND: Logging is widely recognized as one of the most hazardous industries. Despite the prominence of this sector in Türkiye’s Eastern Black Sea region, comprehensive forensic investigations of logging-related deaths are limited. METHODS: This retrospective study examined 102 logging-related fatalities identified among 4,878 forensic autopsies performed between 2013 and 2023 by the Recep Tayyip Erdoğan University. Demographic, occupational, environmental, seasonal, and medical response characteristics were extracted from autopsy reports and supplemented with information from police and judicial records. RESULTS: The victims were predominantly male (93.1%) with an average age of 57.4 years. Two-thirds of them were unregistered workers, and 5.9% were foreign nationals. Tree-strike injuries were the leading cause of death (51.0%), followed by falls from trees (30.4%). Fatalities most frequently occurred in the fall (32.4%), with cranial trauma predominating in the summer and thoracic injuries in the spring. Autopsy findings revealed extensive polytrauma, including pelvic and extremity fractures (71.6%) and intracranial hemorrhage (53.9%). Most incidents were witnessed (78.4%); however, unwitnessed deaths occurred disproportionately among older informal workers on private lands. Female victims (6.9%) primarily died while performing auxiliary tasks and frequently lacked medical intervention (83%). CONCLUSION: This study represents the first comprehensive medico-legal evaluation of logging-related fatalities in the Eastern Black Sea region. The findings highlight the pivotal role of unregulated labor, hazardous seasonal working conditions, and limited emergency response capacity in shaping mortality patterns. Targeted interventions, including stricter enforcement of occupational safety regulations, training for informal workers, and improved access to rural emergency services, are urgently needed to reduce preventable deaths in forestry and logging activities.