A multidisciplinary forensic analysis of two lightning deaths observed in South Africa

Abstract

While in-depth studies of lightning deaths can be found in the literature, rarely do such investigations they utilize a multidisciplinary approach, analysing both the medical and electrical aspects of a case. Even more rare, is to find such studies on cases from the developing world such as Africa and South-East Asia - particularly in tropical countries with very high lightning exposure. This paper details the forensic investigation of two lightning deaths that took place during a weekend in February 2020, in South Africa. One event was eye witnessed and the other was not (Case A and B). The investigation involves multidisciplinary forensic examination including case histories, site analysis (including soil resistivity measurements), medical autopsies, lightning location system data analysis and voltage gradient estimations. In both cases, lightning is determined to be the cause of death. In Case A, we confirm that the responsible flash must have attached within close proximity to the deceased, if not a direct strike and in Case B we confirm direct strike as the most probable mechanism of death. The importance of clothing examination in the forensic studies of lightning victims is noted along with a discussion of the lightning safety issues at play, and recommendations for avoiding such incidents in developing world countries.