Car safety innovations have had little impact on reducing whiplash injuries

Motoring Insight Magazine Online About Us Contact Us

Home Finance Reviews Under The Hood Motorsport Business Profiles Archive Jobs I am looking for in Get your business listed Related Tags: Whiplash, Car Safety, Euro NCAP, Sanjiv Jari, Innovations, Orthopaedic Surgeon, Whiplash Injuries, Surgeon, Manchester, Crumple Zones, under the hood Car safety innovations have had little impact on reducing whiplash injuries By: Danny Hewitt Ref:A00020 Published: 5 October 2014 ONE of world's most prominent orthopaedic surgeons believes car manufacturers have not done enough to reduce whiplash injuries, despite claims having fallen by 24,000 in the last year.Sanjiv Jari, who has treated everyone from injured Premier League players to ordinary victims of whiplash, told Motortrades Insight there are no simple answers to the whiplash epidemic. dummy banner

An Audi A3 endures a spectacular and strict Euro NCAP crash test"For the last few years, car manufacturers have been doing things to try and reduce the effect of accidents on the occupant," the Manchester-based consultant surgeon explained. "Ultimately, the way any injury occurs to an occupant is that the force transmitted from the car that's hitting a stationery vehicle then has to be transferred to the occupant. If there isn't any force to be transferred then the occupant won't have any injury. "Manufacturers are already creating crumple zones within the car that try to absorb the force. They have a car skeleton which will distribute the force of a crash to the skeleton of the car rather than the occupants. "Airbags always help. But with all of these adaptations that have occurred, I'm seriously not sure if they've actually had an effect on reducing whiplash and whiplash claims. They've certainly reduced serious injuries and the risk of death. A seatbelt potentially increases your risk of having a whiplash injury as it is restraining your body so it's not allowing the motion but then it was never designed to prevent whiplash. It was designed to save your life and nothing more." But Deborah Evans, Chief Executive for the Association of Personal Injury lawyers (APIL), said: "Whiplash is not an epidemic, and the vast majority of people are honest, with a great many even playing down their symptoms. Whiplash injuries are real and they can be life-changing. Fraudulent claims waste money, bring the whole system into disrepute and must be eliminated. No-one wants to be in a car accident. No-one wants to have their life affected by pain, even in the short term." According to The Whiplash Report 2012, an independent survey of 4,000 people by Canadean Consumer Research, the introduction of seatbelt legislation back in 1983 led to an increase in neck strains and soft tissue injuries but reduced head injuries significantly. It claims while more than a third of people with whiplash injuries recovered within a month, around one in five had symptoms for more than a year. "We're reliant on the patient telling us about their injury," explained Mr Jari. "There's a lot of evidence to show there are derangements that occur within the muscle and the soft tissues of the neck but these areas are exposed to abnormal forces when involved in a road traffic accident. "In terms of the clinical findings, it's really a question of pain and occasionally stiffness. I say occasionally because not even everyone who has whiplash has stiffness of the neck as it can be periodic. You can have good and bad days. They may happen to turn up for a report [for the insurers' evidence] on a day when they are feeling relatively good." Ms Evans added: "Many insurers don't believe this medical evidence is important, and they make offers of compensation to victims before they have even seen any medical evidence about the injury." 72 per cent of those surveyed said they would trust a doctor to look after their best interests, 39 per cent a lawyer and just one in ten trusting their local MP. The government's Compensation Recovery Unit found there were 547,000 claims this year compared to 571,000 last year. Comments Sign in or Register to leave a comment Related Articles // More Like This dummy

Whiplash Willie: insurance companies 'work with solicitors' A LEADING surgeon has claimed the rise in whiplash claims is being 'driven by solicitors via insurance companies'. The statement came after it was recently revealed whiplash claims had risen. S dummy

NCAP advises drivers to opt for safety and avoid three-star Dacia Lodgy AS CHRISTMAS and the New Year fast approach, families are looking for a fresh start, with many seeking new cars to safely transport their loved ones.And while many new vehicles have received praise dummy

Whiplash claims: medical experts and specialist doctors could assess whiplash injuries under new proposals MEDICAL EXPERTS, or doctors and physiotherapists in Plain English, are to take the lead in assessing whiplash injuries, if proposals from the Association of British Insurers are taken seriously and 123 « Previous Article Next Article »

News 24/7 MotorTrades Insight are now official news providers for NewsNow. Top Stories // This Week Show Stories For: > ---2014--- February January ---2013--- December November October September August July June May April March February January west-suffolk-college-automotive-students-inspired-to-get-involved-in-motorsport

West Suffolk College automotive students inspired to get involved in motorsport. Students from West Suffolk College are being inspired to get involved in car racing, as the job market for UK Motorsport is looking healthier than ever.Last week, 60 Motor Vehicle students got the c... building-cars-live-on-bbc-2-amazon-prime-presenter-james-may-set-for-mini-car-building-challenge

Building Cars Live on BBC 2: Amazon Prime presenter James May set for MINI car building challenge. Every 20 seconds a brand new car rolls off a production line somewhere in Britain and approximately every fourth car built in the UK is a built-to-order MINI.On the evenings of Tuesday 20 and Wednes... fia-world-rallycross-championship-world-rx-prepares-for-final-european-round-in-italy

FIA World Rallycross Championship: World RX prepares for final European round in Italy. Tensions will be running high at the penultimate round of the FIA World Rallycross Championship presented by Monster Energy which takes place at the Franciacorta International Circuit this weekend a... hit-and-run-driver-sentenced-after-telematics-data-proves-guilt-in-court

Hit and run driver sentenced after telematics data proves guilt in court. Evidence provided by a telematics device has resulted in a suspended prison sentence for a motorist who ploughed into a pedestrian walking home from a Christmas celebration on 12 December last year,... Company Info // Get in Touch © Motoring Insight Limited 2012 - 2014 Tel: 0203 151 6410 Email: accounts@motortradesinsight.co.uk Motortrades Insight Limited trading as motoringinsight.co.uk Registered Address Swiss House Beckingham Street Tolleshunt Major Essex CM9 8LZ Company Reg: 07302221 VAT No: 120173663 Links // On The Web >> >> Subscribe to Mailing List >> Advertise on Motoring Insight >> Motorsport News >> >> Motoring Industry News >> Blog >> Used Car Buyers Guide >> Link To Us >> Ratecard >> Privacy Policy >> Terms and Conditions >> Disclaimer

Twitter // Follow Us Cookies on Motortrades Insight

Like many popular websites, Motortrades Insight uses some third party widgets that may set and may have already set cookies, for example the Twitter feed on our homepage. For more information see our cookie policy. By clicking close and continue you agree to our use of cookies.