Thresher Machine Accident: Injury Resembling ‘Cut-Throat’

Agriculture holds a very important place in India. The modernization of the agricultural practices led to the increased usage of machines and the accidents caused by them. We report a case of a middle aged man who got entangled in the belt of a thresher machine used in agricultural farm fields but a wound over his neck resembled cut throat injury. The cut throat wound of the neck is usually associated with homicide or suicide with a sharp edged weapon, so a suspicion of foul play was raised. On careful examination with a magnifying glass, it was noted that the injury was a lacerated wound, only muscle deep and had not caused damage to any internal structures of neck. On the basis of naked eye examination this neck wound could easily have been misinterpreted as a homicidal injury.