Violence: Recognition, Management and Prevention INJURY PATTERN OF THE FLASH-BALL ® , A LESS-LETHAL WEAPON USED FOR LAW ENFORCEMENT: REPORT OF TWO CASES AND REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE

A p l d e m Abstract—Less-lethal weapons are used in law enforceent to neutralize combative individuals and to disperse iot crowds. Local police recently used such an impact eapon, the Flash-Ball, in two different situations. This un fires large rubber bullets with kinetic energies around 00 J. Although it is designed to avoid skin penetration, mpacts at such energies may still create major trauma with ssociated severe injuries to internal organs. This is a reort of 2 patients shot with the Flash-Ball who required edical attention. One could be discharged quickly, but the ther required hospitalization for heart and lung contusion. oth patients required advanced investigations including omputed tomography (CT) scan. The medical literature on njuries induced by less-lethal impact weapons is reviewed. mpacts from the Flash-Ball can cause significant injury to nternal organs, even without penetration. Investigations as or other high-energy blunt traumas are called for in these ases. © 2006 Elsevier Inc.