Long Term Effect of Rear-End Collisions

Numerous studies have shown that a certain percentage of rear-end collision patients suffer long-term pain and disability from their accident. On the other hand, some like to point at reports such as the Quebec Task Force report¹ and state that whiplash is a self-limiting, short-term problem.

This current study² sought to determine the long-term effects of automobile collisions in a large Swedish city. The researchers studied the records of 255 people who had visited the emergency room after a car crash. They measured the length of sick leave that the patients used and the number of people who received a disability pension.

Rear-end collisions were responsible for only 39% of the injuries. However, 64% of the sick leave used within 2.5 years of the collision was by people in rear-end collisions, and at the four-year follow-up, 89% of those on disability had been in rear-end collisions.

Significantly, 8% of the occupants in rear-end collisions were receiving disability payments 4 to 6 years after their accidents.

"The current results show that every ninth person of the 141 with cervical strain injuries received disability pension or was still on sick leave 4-6 years after the time of injury, which is consistent with the results in several other studies. In two English studies,^3,4 it was reported that 14% and 8% of those with who had cervical strain injuries had persistent sequelae 8 and 4 years after the injury event, respectively. The results reported by Hildingsson and Toolanen⁵ also indicate significant long-term consequences for approximately every 10th person with this type of injury. In a follow-up study 8-12 years after the injury event, Gargan and Bannister⁶ state that 12% of patients with cervical strain injuries had such severe, persistent medical problems that they were forced to stop working, were treated with analgesics or cervical collar, or became large-scale health care consumers. Murray et al³ also demonstrated that this type of injury causes the highest proportion of persistent medical problems."

Spitzer WO, Skovron ML, Salmi LR, Cassidy JD, et al. Scientific monograph of the Quebec Task Force on Whiplash-Associated Disorders: redefining "whiplash" and its management. Spine 1995;20(Suppl):S1-73.
Bylund P, Bjornstig U. Sick leave and disability pension among passenger car occupants injured in urban traffic. Spine 1998; 23(9):1023-1028.
Murray PA, Pitcher M, Galasko CSB. The cost of long-term disability from road traffic accidents: four year study: final report. Transport Research Laboratory. University of Manchester, 1993.
Parmar HV, Raymakers R. Neck injuries from rear impact road traffic accidents: prognosis in persons seeking compensation. Injury 1993;24:75-78.
Hildingsson C, Toolanen G. Outcome after soft-tissue injury of the cervical spine: a prospective study of 93 car accident victims. Acta Orthopedica Scandinavica 1990;61:357-359.
Gargan MF, Bannister GC. Long-term prognosis of soft-tissue injuries of the neck. Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery [Br] 1990;72:901-903.

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