Ha..thought of that, but, he was not just shot in the torso either. I guess it would have been better proof had he been shot in the pelvis first or 2nd or 3rd or 4th to make it a more convincing example.
HP's:
1st shot of .38 to his forearm (obliterating the tissue)
2 shots of .38 in the chest
1 shot of .38 point blank to the side of the torso
1 shot of .38 to the solar plexus
1 shot of .38 to the top of the head (near contact distance) --1st time BG went down...and got up to fight some more.
2 shots of .38 again to the chest
1 shot again of .38 to the abdomen
1 shot to the pelvis of .38 to the pelvis shattering it.--went down again and stayed down but still 'alive'.
I would think it's similar to shattering load bearing beams in one's house, then have them put under additional stresses to see how long it takes for it to collapse under its own weight.
Good. Where was the pelvis shot? We don't know. What shattered? We don't know. Where was the shot aimed? We don't know. Yes, it can happen, but intentionally making it happen in another story, especially with a handgun.
IF the bullet goes clear through the soft tissue and strikes the pelvic bone hard enough to break it, the BG will not be able to stand on his feet. You don't have to take out the actual hip socket or the ball on the top of the femur. If the pelvis itself is broke in two or more pieces, it will not hold up under body weight. And down he goes.
Not necessarily. You need to break the girdle, a structural collapse of the girdle, to make the person unable to stand on their feet. The iliac blade can lose chunks of bone (hence is 'broken') and still not fully break and hence the girdle itself remains intact and there is no structural collapse.
For example, you could end up with something like a Malgaigne fracture (vertical shear) of the anterior portion of the ilium (the portion of the 'hip bone' you feel at the entry of your front jeans pocket). You end up with a fracture, even complete separation, but no girdle failure. Note that when folks are taught to aim for the 'hips' in order to break, shatter the pelvis, they are often taught to aim in that area. They are taught this, in part, because firearms instructors don't understand the anatomy. They can tell students to feel for the bone (and the students do - I have been in those classes) so that they know where to aim. It is also a fairly large target (hence easier to hit). The problem is that the ilium can take the most damage and still keep the girdle intact and so of all the places to strike the pelvis itself, the ilium, specifically sections of the iliac blade, aren't ideal for producing the intended result being taught to students.
For those of you attending pistol classes in the near future and who have an instructor tell you to shoot the pelvis to break or shatter it in order to cause a cessation of mobility, ask the instructor to explain to you what part of the pelvis needs to be shot in order to accomplish this goal and what sort of damage will result. If they can explain to you the biomechanics and trauma mechanics of what can be accomplished, GOOD. Then have the instructor tell you where you need to aim on a clothed person (since most people who you are likely to battle will be clothed) to get that desired result.
BTW, people often die days later from a broken pelvis, even without damage to surrounding soft tissue.
Yes this can and it can happen with many types of fractures, especially those that go untreated, but that have exposed marrow to the blood stream. Note that the pelvis, especially the ilium and ischium, contain a large supply of marrow and are blood producers. Opening up the marrow to the blood via a break, can release marrow into the blood. The result can be embolisms that can result in death.
Of course those who break their pelvis but that have no other tissue damage are most likely going to be old folks with osteoporosis. Generally, they are already in declining health and so the injury results in all sorts of complications to their system, exacerbating other problems, increasing the speed of their decline until their systems fail under the stress.