A CORK Consultant in emergency medicine has warned people to be careful on the streets after a man was hospitalised this week with serious head injuries, following what is believed to be a one-punch assault.
Dr Chris Luke said there were obvious risks from throwing a single punch but that a lot of the more serious incidents with severe injuries are the result of bad luck.
Dr. Chris Luke Consultant at the Cork University Hospital speaking while the nurses where on strike.
Pic: Gavin Browne
He said: “We see a small trickle of people through the emergency departments who have been battered on the streets of Cork and that is hugely deplorable, but mostly these injuries are a terrible accident.”
“Drinking alcohol or taking drugs can fuel people’s rage leading to violent outbursts. Taking drink and drugs together particularly fuels impulsivity and violence and many people take a cocktail of substances now,” he said.
“One punch assaults are a reminder of the role that bad luck can play in head injuries in general. Everyone has heard about someone getting one or two punches and falling to the ground after what had been a relatively minor scuffle and they die.”
One punch delivered to the weak point in the skull above the ear can be fatal.
Dr Luke explained that the skull is designed to absorb impact from the front or the back of the head, ‘as if humans were designed to walk into palm trees or to fall backwards,’ but above the ear the skull is thin to allow space for hearing anatomy, so a bang to this area can have devastating impact.
The skull can break most easily at this point, and blood vessels can be torn. A major threat is that a blow here could tear the middle meningeal artery which can then flood the brain with blood, and that pressure on the brain can kill.
“The skull is not elastic — some people describe the brain as being like an egg in an egg cup — the rubbery brain fluid around the brain protects it and absorbs any shocks felt by the rigid egg cup. But if there is a break in the skull, that pressure squeezes the brain which stops functioning unless that pressure is relieved.”
“Every day in the emergency department we are constantly reminded how lucky or unlucky people can be. Some people could suffer a serious assault or a serious accident and be relatively unharmed, while others could get one knock to the head, tear a vulnerable artery and die.”
“Every weekend in cities and towns people can fall back and if they land on the side of their head by their ear it could be fatal,” Dr Luke said.
Earlier this week, a man in his 30s sustained a serious head injury on the Grand Parade following a violent assault that gardai believe may have been unprovoked. It is believed that he was the victim of a one-punch assault and hit the concrete pavement outside the English Market.
He was rushed to Cork University Hospital and despite suffering internal bleeding, he was stabilised and his condition. He has since been released from hospital.
CCTV cameras operate in the area and gardaí are investigating a definite line of inquiry.
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