Nearly 200 rear-end collisions happen each day in British Columbia alone. Imagine how many of these accidents occur throughout Canada and the United States as a whole.
Whiplash injuries are the most common injury to arise out of rear-end collisions. With rear-end collisions occuring so frequently, the number of whiplash injuries will continue to rise.
Financial Cost
Whiplash injuries account for more than 65% of all bodily injury claims (Navan et al., 2000). In Canada, whiplash injuries account for over 2 million insurance claims each year. In British Columbia alone, the economic costs exceed C$600 million/year (ICBC). The economic cost is measured in terms of lost work productivity, medical care, disability, sick leave and litigation.
The following courtries are affected by whiplash costs accordingly:
- Canada costs are about C$600 million (ICBC)
- United States of America costs are more than US$8.5 billion (Freeman, et al., 1999)
- Germany costs are Euro$2 billion (Langwieder & Hell, 2001)
- Sweden costs are US$43.5 million (Holm, L., 1997)
- United Kingdom costs are Euro$1.6 billion (Batchelor, M., 2001)