Charlotte Rear-End Crashes Risk Soft Tissue Damage

An experienced rear-end accident lawyer knows damage to soft tissue of the neck is very common in situations where a rear-end accident happens in Charlotte, Concord, Fort Mill, Indian Trail and surrounding areas.

Many different factors can increase the likelihood of experiencing symptoms of soft-tissue injury, and of experiencing chronic problems instead of recovering following a motor vehicle collision. For example, women are more likely than men to initially exhibit symptoms associated with whiplash disorders. Drivers in crashes where the striking car has a longitudinally-mounted engine, compared with a transversal engine, also have a greater likelihood of experiencing long-term complications associated with soft-tissue injury.

While many factors affect the likelihood that a motorist will experienced symptoms of WADs, one of the most important is the severity of the collision. The more the crash impact causes a change in velocity, the greater the potential for serious and lasting whiplash injuries. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration recently published a study addressing the impact of crash severity on the likelihood that a driver or passenger in a rear-end accident would develop health problems resulting from soft tissue injury.

How Are Soft Tissue Injuries Impacted by the Severity of Rear-End Crashes?

Researchers provided a summary of past data on crash severity and its impact on whiplash associated disorders. One past study found that the majority of occupants of vehicles involved in rear-end crashes experienced symptoms when the crash caused a change in velocity of between 10 and 15 KM per hour. Another study found no occupants who reported whiplash symptoms immediately after accidents in which the velocity change was up to 10.9 kilometers per hour.

Researchers conducted their own review of rear-end accidents that happened in vehicles with crash pulse recorders. More than 60,000 vehicles in Sweden have been equipped with crash pulse recorders since 1995. The purpose of the recorders is to measure the acceleration time in rear-impact crashes. Researchers carefully selected 150 different crashes to include in the study. There were 207 occupants of the vehicles involved in the crashes, and none of the occupants had sustained any prior neck injuries.

The research into these 207 people found a correlation between duration of symptoms associated with WAD and crash severity, measured by mean acceleration and change in velocity. There was a 20 percent chance that a crash victim would have symptoms associated with WAD that persisted for more than a month when the change of velocity was 8 KM per hour and the mean acceleration was 5 g. When the acceleration was below 3 g, only one out of 207 occupants reported WAD symptoms.

Other past research has also shown that a moderate crash can cause long-lasting whiplash symptoms. In Volvo vehicles involved in rear-end accidents of moderate severity, 21 percent of occupants indicated that they had experienced long-term consequences associated with soft tissue injury.

The data suggests even more moderate rear-end accidents can leave motorists and passengers with long-lasting and severe symptoms. Those responsible for causing accidents need to be held accountable damage suffered by accident victims.

The Charlotte personal injury attorneys at Hull & Chandler, P.A. represent accident victims across North Carolina in Charlotte, Concord, Fort Mill, Indian Trail and surrounding areas. Contact us today at 866-607-3620 for a free case consultation.