Motor vehicle collisions can involve automobiles, motorcycles, trucks and SUV’s, but can also involve pedestrians and motor vehicles. Motor vehicle accidents can cause serious and permanent injuries and death. Most people subscribe to the myth that motor vehicle collisions must involve substantial property damage to be able to recover for a person’s injuries from a crash. It’s a myth that a minimal impact with little or no property damage has no possibility of inflicting serious injury to occupants of the victim’s vehicle.
The vast majority of scientific collision and crash studies disprove this theory advocated by the insurance industry. Relatively new scientific evidence documents clearly that vehicle impacts involving minor or no property damage, particularly to the rear of the vehicle, can cause the occupant(s) to suffer serious spinal injuries. The rationality of this new concept is that vehicles are designed to prevent damage to the vehicle but not to the occupant. Bumpers today are very elastic and very cushioned so that a small impact to the rear of a vehicle may leave little to no property damage in the rear of the vehicle, but still allows for major adverse affects to the driver and occupants. The force of the impact is transferred from the vehicle to the occupant.
Never believe an insurance representative’s position that unless you have major damage to your vehicle you could not have been severely injured. That is simply not true and contrary to Louisiana law. Louisiana law is clear that the extent of property damage to a person’s vehicle is not relevant as to whether that person has sustained a serious physical injury.
