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'Not slip and fall': Bob Saget's autopsy shows multiple skull fractures, raises questions

The determination appeared to contradict a statement released by the comedian's family saying he died from head trauma

Bob Saget's official autopsy report determined his cause of death to be "blunt head trauma" that resulted in multiple fractures to the skull and hemorrhaging in the brain. The determination appeared to contradict a statement released by the comedian's family saying he died from head trauma.

The family wrote that authorities had determined the 65-year-old actor and comedian had "passed from head trauma" on January 9 and concluded that he "accidentally hit the back of his head on something, thought nothing of it and went to sleep." The statement also noted that "no drugs or alcohol were involved." However, according to the report released Friday, February 11, Saget's injuries were far more severe than a mere "slip and fall" accident, The Blaze reported.

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"Far from a head bump that might have been shrugged off, the autopsy described an unmistakably serious set of injuries that would at the very least have probably left someone confused, brain experts said," NYT Science tweeted while sharing the report, which was shared with Nexstar by the office of the Orange County Medical Examiner. The authorities further concluded that Saget was Covid-19 positive at the time of his death, albeit there were no signs of chronic or acute inflammation in his respiratory system.

“This is significant trauma,” Director of the Houston Methodist Neurological Institute Gavin Britz told The New York Times. “This is something I find with someone with a baseball bat to the head, or who has fallen from 20 or 30 feet.” "This is not a "slip & fall". This is not a minor concussion. This is MAJOR head trauma," emergency physician and researcher Dr. Megan Ranney added.

The autopsy report stated that Saget's injuries included an abrasion on the back of his scalp, subgaleal hemorrhaging under the back of his scalp, a linear fracture to the base of his skull, comminuted fractures (bone broken into more than two pieces) on “the roofs of the orbits involving the bilateral and frontal bone,” and a subdural hematoma and additional hemorrhaging. The report also indicated that the comedian's body was "consistent" with that of a 65-year-old, although one of his arteries showed “severe atherosclerosis,” or blockage, narrowing it by up to 95%. That said, his death was ruled an accident. “It is most probable that the decedent suffered an unwitnessed fall backward and struck the posterior aspect of his head,” Orange County Chief Medical Examiner Joshua D. Stephany wrote in the report.

Nonetheless, the questions persisted. Dr Sanjay Gupta, CNN’s chief medical correspondent and neurosurgeon, said the report reveals Saget's injuries were "not a simple bump on the head" but a "very significant blow to the head" that would usually be consistent with a fall down a flight of stairs or a major car accident.

Saget was mostly known as the star of "Full House" and host of “America’s Funniest Home Videos." The comedian was in the middle of a standup tour when he was found dead in his hotel room at the Ritz-Carlton in Orlando on January 9. Loved ones and fellow comedians paid tribute on social media, sharing their remembrances with fans. The Saget family acknowledged the “outpouring of love" in a statement. “As we continue to mourn together, we ask everyone to remember the love and laughter that Bob brought to this world, and the lessons he taught us all: to be kind to everyone, to let the people you love know you love them, and to face difficult times with hugs and laughter,” they said.