Articles Posted in Roof Crush Injurries

Experts Utilized in Catastrophic Injury Cases — Severe Burn Injuries

Just as every catastrophic injury is unique and every victim is unique, so are the teams of medical and legal experts needed to handle the catastrophic injury victim’s care and their personal injury claim.

minicar

Crash Testing Minicars

In recent crash testing, minicars (such as Fiat 500 and Honda Fit) were the worst-performing group with regard to safety in the small overlap frontal crash test.  Only one minicar achieved an acceptable rating in that category, the Chevrolet Spark.  That particular test measures the result of a front corner of one vehicle in a collision with another vehicle or object.  Twenty-five percent of the tested vehicles’ front end comes in to contact with a set obstacle at 40 miles per hour.  The small overlap front crash test bypasses the tested vehicle’s front end crush zone, making it more likely for the occupant’s compartment to collapse in the collision.

rollover

Rollover crashes remain one of the most deadliest of collisions.  One of the reasons they remain so deadly is due to roof crushing that occurs after the rollover.

In some cases, the fatality occurs when the roof of the vehicle hits the ground,  crushes inward toward the vehicle occupants and strikes them.  The other scenario that occurs with roof crushing is the windows, windshields or doors break or open up when the roof hits the ground.. The now deformed shape of a vehicle has wide gaps that can cause the vehicle occupants to be ejected from the vehicle.

The first study looks at the total count per year of spinal injuries in automobile crashes using data from 1994 to 2011. It looked at the rate of spinal cord injuries and fracture-dislocations of the vertebrae. Data from 1994-2011 was used to determine the rate of spine injuries for drivers and front seat passengers involved in a crash.

There were greater than 5,500 fracture dislocations and slightly more than 100 spinal cord injuries per year from automobile accidents. Most injuries occurred with collisions involving frontal impacts or vehicle rollovers; the least happened in rear accident. The overall rate in all accidents for spinal cord injury was at 0.054 percent and the greatestrate occurred in rollovers at 0.22 percent. For fracture dislocations of the spine, the greatest rate was 1.55 percent while the lowest rate was at 0.065 percent in rear impact accidents. Seat belt use gave an 81 percent effectiveness of reducing spinal cord injuries. The area where most injuries occurred was the C-spine (or cervical spine) which accounted for 66.3 percent of all injuries, while the thoracic spine accounted for 30.5 percent and the lumbar spine accounted for 3.2 percent. Serious head injuries happened 13.3 times more frequently than spinal cord injuries.

Most attorney’s  representing an accident victim, focus on the behavior and driving of their client and the other driver. Occasionally, there might be focus on what happened before the accident to contribute to it. Perhaps the roadway was not maintained correctly resulting in a buildup of ice, or perhaps there was a defect in road design.

In Catastrophic injury cases, however, its important for an attorney to check out the condition of the vehicle after the collision. Many many serious injuries result when a car rolls over on its roof. Studies have shown for about $100, car manufactures can put in supports that prevent the roof intrusion into the passenger compartment on most occasions.

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