There is no doubt that newer cars are safer than older models. A study in the journal Traffic Injury Prevention finds that cars built in or after 2009 see 55% fewer injuries than those built prior to 2009. Newer cars reduce the risk for injuries to the lower extremities, including the hips, thighs, knees and ankles. Colorado residents should be aware, though, that one’s sex has an impact on car crash injury risk.
The same study shows that women are 73% more likely to be injured in a front-end crash than men are. Researchers focused on front-end collisions because these are the most common. They also excluded from their study any women who were more than three months pregnant or who failed to wear a three-point seat belt.
In particular, women run double the risk for injuries to the spine, abdomen and legs. The reason for this trend is yet to be discovered, but there is one important factor: the lack of any crash test safety data that pertains directly to women.
Crash test dummies are modeled on men, many of them physically fit men from over 50 years ago. Female crash dummies more often than not resemble these with the only difference being size. Yet there are anatomical and physiological differences that safety experts are failing to take into account.
When car crash injuries are severe, victims may want to file a claim with the help of an auto accident firm. Colorado is an at-fault state, so victims may file a claim even when injuries are not severe. The damages they are eligible to recover will be conditioned by the degree of fault. With a lawyer, victims may strive for the maximum settlement possible. If the other side cannot agree to a settlement, victims might prepare for litigation with their lawyer.
