DOI: 10.36347/sjmcr.2017.v05i01.004

Pages: 11-13

A 60-year-old male was driving a 650-cc motorcycle at 70 km/h, when a deer jumped into the road from a bush. He tried to swerve to avoid a collision and subsequently fell over, with his motorcycle running over him. On arrival, his vital signs were stable; however, chest roentgen and computed tomography revealed left clavicular fracture, left 5th and 6th rib fractures and left lung contusion with mild hemo pneumothorax. He was admitted to our hospital for conservative treatment and discharged on the seventh hospital day after controlling his pain. To our knowledge, this is the first case of a patient suffering traumatic injury due to swerving to avoid hitting a deer in Japan. Whether attempting to swerve out of the way or colliding directly will reduce the damage to motor vehicles occupants when a deer collision seems inevitable remains controversial. Because there is no database, Japan will need prospectively collect and investigate data regarding motor vehicles collisions with animals.