The insurance industry has been promoting a fallacy since the early 1990’s. That fallacy is that people in cars cannot be injured if the damage to the car is minor. This could not be further from the truth; however, jurors and society in general have bought into this concept. People think anyone who brings a claim for injury after minor damage to the vehicle is a crook.
As the title of this blog indicates, the rope used to hang a man will show little, if any, damage, but it will kill the man. With respect to vehicles, they are built better these days and built to withstand crashes of more significance than they could withstand years ago. Think about the materials which are now used in bumpers and other components of cars and SUV’s. Simply because the car or SUV shows little damage does not mean the impact of the collision was insignificant or that the person inside the vehicle was not jolted one way or another to cause an injury.
Additionally, you have more towing packages and other components which resist damage but still receive the force of the impact. The seats in the vehicle have an effect on the collision and injury as well. See this report on It is not enough to say that the car or SUV suffered little damage. Shouldn’t we focus on the individual who is injured and not the metal?
My grandfather used to always say, "Don’t ever worry about what money can replace." Unfortunately, insurance companies want you to focus on the opposite. Since there is little damage to the vehicle, this person isn’t hurt, and we shouldn’t have to pay. This is horrible logic. We should focus on the person and the doctor and not assume the victim is lying. We should presume the person is telling the truth because if they are, they are the ones who lose in the end and are left with the injury.
If you want to read more about this issue, here is a very good article with supporting cites: Low Impact Injury Accidents: Are they Real?
Have you been in a low impact accident? Were you injured? Do you know someone who was? Can you dispel the myth? Let’s talk about it. Let’s get the public aware of this problem. Not everyone is injured in a collision. Some people are involved in significant collisions and rollover crashes, and they are not injured. Some people are in minor crashes, and they are injured. That is why we need to evaluate the person, not the car.
Let us know what you think.
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