Patterns and Medico-Legal Implications of Forensic Injuries Among Healthcare Providers in a Nigerian Tertiary Hospital Emergency Department, South-East Nigeria: Abstract Publication

Background: Forensic (medico-legal) injuries, including road traffic accidents, interpersonal violence, firearm injuries, and sexual assaults, represent a major cause of morbidity and emergency admissions in Nigeria. Frontline healthcare providers in Accident and Emergency (A&E) departments perform a key dual role: delivering life-saving clinical interventions and guaranteeing accurate medico-legal documentation, evidence preservation, and legal reporting. However, empirical data on live forensic injury presentations, documentation conformity, and inter-agency workflows in Nigerian tertiary hospitals remain inadequate. This study evaluated the epidemiological patterns, chronological and seasonal variations, documentation completeness, and medico-legal implications of forensic injuries presented to the Accident and Emergency (A&E) Department of David Umahi Federal University Teaching Hospital (DUFUTH), Uburu, Ebonyi State, Nigeria.