Whiplash Injury vs Auto Crash Severity

Medical Science Monitor
October 2005; 11(10): RA316-321
Arthur C. Croft and Michael D. Freeman

These authors note: In the mid-1990s, a set of guidelines was published by a leading U.S. auto insurer instructing claims adjusters that injury claims resulting from motor vehicle crashes with less that $1,000 US in claimant's vehicle property are "unlikely to — or cannot cause significant or permanent injury" and should "be handled as a fraudulent claim," regardless of medical evidence of injury. The "claim goal was to close without payment."

The MIST (minor impact soft tissue) protocol uses vehicle property damage as a construct for injury, and all injury claims less than $1,000 US of vehicle property damage are considered to be false.
   
These authors "conducted a comprehensive best evidence synthesis of the existing medical and engineering literature to investigate the relationship between vehicular structural damage and occupant injury in motor vehicle crashes."
               |
The key points noted in this article include:

1. A substantial number of injuries are reported in crashes of little or no property damage.
2. Property damage is an unreliable predictor of injury risk or outcome in low velocity crashes!
3. 95% of rear impact injury crashes occur below 25 mph.
4. Rear-end collision injury severity and duration can be reduced with a head restraint closer to the occupant's head.
5. Well-done studies documented cases of injury with "almost no vehicle damage."
6. There is "no statistically significant associations between crash severity and the 6-month injury status."!
7.  "Persons who were unaware of the impending crash were significantly more likely to have persistent symptoms."
8. "No statistically significant relationships existed between measures of crash severity in terms of calculated velocity change or maximum deformation and long-term symptoms."
9. There are no significant correlations between crash severity and long-term symptoms.
10. There is a substantial injury risk in frontal and rear impact low speed crashes without sustaining appreciable vehicle damage.
11. "It seems clear that property damage in low velocity motor vehicle crashes does not provide a reliable means of assessing the validity of injury claims and, provides no reliable means of prognosticating long term outcome."
12. "A substantial number of injuries are reported in crashes of severities that are unlikely to result in significant property damage."
13. "Property damage is neither a valid predictor of acute injury risk nor of symptom duration."
14. "Based upon our best evidence synthesis, the level of vehicle property damage appears to be an invalid construct for injury presence, severity, or duration."
15.  "The MIST protocol for prediction of injury does not appear to be valid."     

Similar reviews of articles pertaining to whiplash trauma, subluxation, neurology, neuroimmunology, nutrition, and health can be accessed on my webpage, www.danmurphydc.com.

DAN MURPHY. D.C., D.A.B.C.O. graduated magna cum laude from Western States Chiropractic College in 1978 and has more than 20 years of practice experience. He received his Diplomate in Orthopedics in 1986. Dr. Murphy has served as a part-time faculty member of Life Chiropractic College West since 1982. Internationally recognized for his lectures, Dr. Murphy has taught more than 1,000 seminars in the US and around the world. He currently serves as the Vice President of the ICA.

More Whiplash Information

Whiplash Injury vs Auto Crash Severity
Correlating Crash Severity with Injury Risk, Injury Severity, and Long-term Symptoms in Low Velocity Motor Vehicle Collisions... read more HERE

Whiplash Or Soft Tissue Injury & Minor Impact
Refuting the concept of minor impact soft tissue injury, a review of the literature refuting the concept of minor impact soft tissue injury... read more HERE

Whiplash Frontal Impact
Whiplash Frontal Impact Update on Low Impact Motor Vehicle Collisions, a Review Of Six Studies An in-depth investigation of accidents using 24 occupants with neck symptoms... read more HERE

Whiplash | Rear End Collisions
Whiplash Following Rear End Collisions: This is a unique study because it is a prospective study that looked at all individuals who had been exposed to the trauma of a rear-end motor vehicle collision, ... read more HERE

Whiplash | Fact or Fiction?
Whiplash: Fact or Fiction? The American Journal of Orthopedics January 2005 Jeff S. Silber, MD, Victor M. Hayes, MD. Jason Lipetz, MD, and Alexander R. Vaccaro, MD read more HERE

How long does whiplash last?
In this prospective study, 7.5 years after sustaining whiplash injury: (whiplash statistical information) read more HERE

Car Accident Injury
Your Greatest Loss May Occur After the Wreck! A minor accident?
Even a minor automobile accident can have major ill effects on your health. It may be weeks, months, even years before the problem shows itself... read more HERE

Accident Checklist of Symptoms
Take just two minutes to check for any symptoms you may have in the days and weeks following an accident. See checklist HERE

INSURANCE COMPANIES:
Insurance companies realize the many advantages of Chiropractic care for personal injury cases and routinely cover these costs for the injured... read more HERE

THE COURTS:
Chiropractic doctors who are trained and experienced in personal injury cases, such as Dr. Huber, appear as expert witnesses in courts all over the country...read moreHERE