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Here's a common scenario that occurs during an auto accident. You're stopped at a traffic light when suddenly you feel
the impact of a car striking you from behind. It doesn’t have to be much. Low speed, but enough that you have to get
out and take a look at the damage. When you get to the back of your car, you notice nothing is dinged or dented on your car.
Not even a scratch. The other driver shrugs and smiles apologetically and you both drive happily away.
But
the next morning you find you can hardly get out of bed. Your neck feels like you slept funny and you're walking around with
a stiff neck the entire day – feeling like you overstrained yourself playing golf.
What
is happening here? After all, both cars were driving at such low speeds (5 miles per hour) that it seems unlikely that anything
could have occurred.
Surprise! You just suffered whiplash! That's right, a study that examined the effectiveness of a new sensor that measures ligament length during motion
testing shows just exactly how this happens. Understanding this might shed light on why low-impact accident victims can suffer
serious pain and injury.
These
findings indicate that relatively minor collisions may result in excessive loading to the spinal ligaments. A collision of
just 6 mph can result in G forces of 6.5 - plenty enough to cause ligament stretching during whiplash movement in the seat
of your car.
Cholewicki J, Panjabi MM,
Nibu K, Macius ME. Spinal ligament transducer based on a hall effect sensor. Journal of Biomechanics 1997;30(3):291-293.
Does No Vehicle Damage Mean No Injury?
Whiplash Injuries Linked More to Chassis Design Than Amount of Damage
to Vehicle. We work with many successful attorneys in
Palm Beach, and most have asked me if there is a direct correlation between car damage and the degree of injury suffered by
a patient. This is
a common misconception!
Frankly,
this is the most frustrating type of auto accident to work with because with little or no vehicle damage, it is
hard to believe that serious injury could have resulted. It seems the client must be exaggerating the extent of their injury. A recent study has shown, however, how these collisions can result in injury. It also
revealed that minor vehicle damage can relate or even be the major contributing factor
to occupant injury.
The
key to this concept is to recognize that the acceleration a car experiences is related to the “crush distance”
in a collision. Here is an example from the author of this study:
A car hits a solid brick wall at 10 mph crushing the front of the car
5 inches. A second car, because of a different design, crushes only 2 inches. The first example is found to be 8 Gs of force;
the second is found to be 20 G's of force. Thus, a collision with the same velocity, but with a crush amount smaller by 2.5
times will have a resulting G force 2.5 times greater.
The author sums up this relationship as it relates to whiplash-type injuries:
"On a vehicle with a chassis, no serious visual deformation may occur
even though it is subjected to relatively high speeds of impact. Classically, we see this in the case of pickup trucks or
all-terrain vehicles that are relatively fitted with a solid bumper-to-bumper chassis.”
It
seems certain chassis “hide” damage well – without minimizing the injury.
The author of the study concludes that the classic whiplash injury associated with a great deal of litigation is most
likely founded on the reasoning that if there was little or no vehicle damage, no injury can result. Motor vehicle bodies
or bumper-to-bumper chassis offer little or no crushing effect on arresting obstacles when impacted. The use of stiff motor
vehicle bodies and chassis will produce spiked G force loading to occupants, even if little damage occurs to the vehicle body
or chassis. The lesson is an important one:
An occupant in a low speed collision with no
damage to the vehicle may be at a significantly higher risk of injury than an occupant in a collision with a damaged vehicle!
This information was found in the following study:
Robbins MC. Lack
of relationship between vehicle damage and occupant injury. SAE 970494.
We specialize in working closely
with attorneys and their clients – particularly whiplash related injuries. What makes our service unique is that we understand the unique needs of the attorney. Here is what you can expect from our
office when you refer a client to us:
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