<bold>The aim of the study</bold> was to assess the effectiveness of the medical rescue service in the city of Łódź and its surrounding areas.
<bold>Material and methods.</bold> The records of the forensic-medical postmortems conducted at the Institute of Forensic Medicine Medical University in Łódź in 2004 were analyzed. For further analysis, the cases of adults who died of mechanical injury resulting from an accident were chosen. Taking into consideration the autopsy diagnosis, the degree of the individual injuries was defined with the use of the Abbreviated Injury Scale (AIS). Next, the Injury Severity Score (ISS) and the New Injury Severity Score (NISS) were calculated. In cases where specialist medical assistance was given, the medical documentation was analyzed, and the clinical condition of the injured was assessed using the Revised Trauma Scale (RTS), followed by estimation of the probability of survival with the use of the TRISS (Trauma Revised Injury Severity Score).
<bold>Results and conclusions.</bold> Among the analyzed 194 cases of death caused by a mechanical injury resulting from an accident, 19 cases (9.8%) were recognized as preventable (ISS 0-14 or/and NISS 0-14 and/or TRISS >75%). It was established that the deaths assessed as preventable were caused by early or late injury complications, which even correct treatment cannot always prevent.