Seasoned Personal Injury Lawyers

Serving Metro New York

Car crash injury rate higher among women than men

On Behalf of | Jul 25, 2019 | Car Accidents |

As early as 2011, automotive safety advocates began noting a worrisome trend that drivers in New York should be aware of — women are more likely than men to be seriously injured in a car crash. At that time, advocates put the blame on seat belts. It turns out that most women harmed in crashes are short in statute and that other factors, including seating posture, prevent them from getting the best protection from their seat belts.

However, a new study from the University of Virginia has pinpointed another cause for the trend: skewed crash test data and a resulting lack of safety measures and devices that take women’s biological and physiological distinctions into account. Researchers calculated that women are 73% more likely than men to be seriously injured or die in a crash.

Female crash dummies weigh 110 pounds and are only 5 feet tall, putting their dimensions just outside those of the average woman. Though this dummy was introduced in 2003, it has yet to be widely used. Besides that, it is only a smaller version of a male crash dummy and does not reflect a woman’s differences when it comes to fat distribution, muscle strength or pelvis shape. All of this affects how the seat belt interacts with one’s skeletal structure.

In the event that a woman incurs severe injuries in a car accident through no fault of her own, she may be able to seek compensation. Since New York is a no-fault state, the severity of the injuries has to be at a certain level for a third-party insurance claim to be possible. This is why requesting a case evaluation from a lawyer might be a good idea. The lawyer may even handle every step, including the settlement negotiations and, if those fail, the litigation process.

Archives