According to “insurance experts,” LOW SPEED IMPACTS are generally considered to be any collision that takes place at speeds under ten (10) mph. Some insurance companies have set up special claims units to handle LOW SPEED IMPACT accidents and have even termed them at “MIST claims.” The acronym M.I.S.T. stands for Minor Impact Soft Tissue. Even though there is technically no statistical data that sets this cutoff point (10 mph), the insurance industry refers to this number as such. Many times the controversy arises is in the case of the rear-end low impact collision. Generally in low speed collisions there is not a lot of damage done to the car; however people involved in these accidents often claim to have suffered injuries, neck injuries especially. CLICK LINK BELOW TO READ - Auto insurers play hardball in minor-crash claims
Many years of research suggests that in fact, injury can and does occur in low impact collisions. The most common of these injuries is "whiplash." One of the contributing factors to these injuries is that, in most cases, the occupants are unaware of the impending collision. They therefore cannot brace themselves and force their back and neck against the seat or headrest.
Many automobile bumpers are built to with stand a 2.5 to 5 mph crash without visable damage. These industry standards are not for the safety of the occupant, but are to protect and limit the damage to the bumpers, keeping the cost of repair to a minimum. Many times, vehicle to vehicle impacts or bumper to bumper impacts never show considerable visable damage because the bumpers line up. The urethane bumper cover that his hit usually returns to its shape and to a near perfect condition. Thus, NO VISIBLE DAMAGE. Sometimes when a body shop removes the urethane bumper cover they will notice the reinforcement and sometimes the rear body panel bent and or distorted. Thus, there actually WAS DAMAGE behind the rubber bumper cover. The point is that when the bumper cover does not show damage the impact is sometimes only shown only after the rear bumper cover has been removed.
Many state, county and local police agencies have demonstrated and stressed the importance of wearing their seat belts and shoulder harnesses. This demonstration consists of strapping an occupant to a car seat on an impact sled and sliding it down a rail to initiate a 5 mph crash into a barrier. Participants that have actually gotten on the impact sled and experienced the feeling of crashing into the barrier. They then know firsthand how someone could be injured in such a low speed type of collision. Other bystanders that simply witnessed the demonstration can also verify that the person that has crashed at only 5 mph is thrown forward with a SEVERE JERKING motion.
Many times insurance adjusters try to deny the possibility of injuries in these low speed impacts. Medical research substantiates just the opposite. Although many times the car shows little damage, the velocity and accompanying force have to be transferred somewhere, and that can be the occupants of the vehicle. Even though a vehicle may have been built to withstand these type of impacts, our bodies are not.
In many instances, symptoms of these injuries will not occur immediately. Instead they may take up to 72 hours to manifest themselves. Some of the common symptoms for the above injuries include: Neck Pain, Headaches, Vision problems, Dizziness, Back Pain, Muscle aches and pains, sometimes even Minor non-displaced cervical fractures.
If you or a loved one has been injured in a LOW SPEED rear-end motor vehicle accident, call the TRIPP LAW FIRM for an immediate FREE consultation. Our on-call staff and investigators are available 24 hours a day. CALL (888) 392-LAWS (5297).
NO FEES OR COSTS IF NO RECOVERY.
STATEWIDE – Here is a WAKE UP CALL!
A Florida jury awarded a man $4.8 million in a Florida auto accident lawsuit. The injured man was hurt in a 2003 car accident when a commercial drug company’s van rear-ended his car. As a result of this accident trauma, it left the man with serious neck and back injuries. The injured man required extensive surgery, and even after surgery, is still in pain.
PINELLAS COUNTY - A Pinellas Park police officer and his canine partner suffered minor injuries in a crash with another driver late last night. The officer and his canine partner were stopped with other traffic at a red light on 49th Street at Lake Boulevard when a full-size Mercury drove into the rear of the police cruiser.
Last week an accident involving a truck and a semi-tractor trailer on the Howard Frankland Bridge resulted in serious injuries. The accident blocked the northbound lanes of traffic on the Tampa side.
