Introduction. Thorasic injuries as all the other ones, have diverse aetiology. In most cases (26–31 %) they are caused by traffic collisions but also significant amount result from falls from a height and batteries. Aim. In this study, the aim of authors was to check why tested inpatients sustained thorasic injuries and to which hospital wards they were sent to. Moreover, it was verified whether severity of injuries depends on other factors, like for instance the age. Material and methods. The research consisted of statistical analysis of medical history of inpatiens, who were hospitalised in Emergency Department of the M. Kopernik Voivodeship Specialist Hospital in Łódź because of thorastic injuries in years 2009–2010. Particular attention was paid to the reasons of damages and also to which hospital wards inpatiens were sent to after initial hospitalization in the emergency department. Results. The most common injury mechanism in the studied population in 2010 was a traffic accident (50.7%), the second most common one was an incidence of violence (17.7%). Both in 2009 and 2010 the authors observed a statistically significant correlation between a traffic accident and the degree of the injury severity. Conclusions. The patients in the studied group sustained thoracic injuries which were mostly consequences of traffic accidents and incidences of violence.

Key words: mechanism of injury, thoracic injury, Hospital Emergency Department.