If Z only got a broken nose and a laceration or gash at the back of his head, he is relatively lucky. It could have been much worse. Martin could have killed Zimmerman by dashing his head against the pavement.
Here’s a recent case of a girl dying after a fistfight:
The death of a 10-year-old girl Long Beach, California girl who suffered blunt force trauma to her head in a fight with a classmate and later died has been ruled a homicide, coroner’s officials said Monday.
Long Beach police officers responded just before 6 p.m. Friday to a hospital after being notified that Joanna Ramos, who was unconscious and not breathing, had been brought into the emergency room by her family.
She was taken in for surgery, placed into intensive care in critical condition, and died just before 9 p.m.
She had no visual signs of trauma to her body, police said.
Joanna and a fellow student from Willard Elementary School had been in a fight after school in an alley.
With seven others looking on, the girls took off their backpacks, put their hair in a bun, said “Go” and started hitting each other.
The fight lasted about one minute. It involved pushing and shoving, no weapons and no one was knocked to the ground, police said.
Once the fight was over, both girls left the area and went their separate ways.
Later, Joanna had a bloody nose and wasn’t feeling well so she was taken to the hospital, her family said.
above quote from
kveo.com/news/fist-fight-death-ruled-homicide .
Doctor: LB 10-year-old had tell-tale symptom
Tuesday, February 28, 2012
LONG BEACH, Calif. (KABC) – A 10-year-old girl died after a fight with another student. One doctor says it’s important for parents to know the symptoms of brain injury, and when to get medical help.
Head injuries are common among active children. Joanna Ramos, 10, was struck in a fist fight with an 11-year-old girl and died six hours later. It’s a rare death case, according to child neurologist Perry Lubens, but it happens.
“It depends on if her head turned in one direction or went forward and backwards. Some biomechanical force lacerated an artery inside her skull,” Lubens said.
Ramos’ symptoms after the fight, like vomiting, are classic signs of a concussion. But according to Lubens, vomiting and headaches alone are not reasons for alarm.
What was significant, according to Lubens, and what every parent should recognize as a danger sign, is lethargy. Ramos told her mother that she felt tired and wanted to lay down.
“That suggests that there is some kind of swelling going on inside the skull, compressing the brain, compressing the brain stem, and that is dangerous, that is potentially lethal,” Lubens said.
There is no space in the skull for the brain when it swells. It pushes the brain stem, and critical functions, such as breathing, are cut off. When a child gets tired and very sleepy after a hit on the head, it’s time to head to the hospital.
Lubens said Ramos might have been saved had someone known the tell-tale symptom.
“This is a treatable condition. Hemorrhages inside the brain are treatable … but you don’t have a long time,” Lubens said.
above quote from
abclocal.go.com/kabc/story?section=news/local/los_angeles&id=8562279 .
