Why alcohol consumption means more serious car crash injuries

More than 250,000 people suffer car crash injuries in the UK each year, ranging from very serious spinal cord damage to minor cuts and bruises. Many of these people find that the road accident injuries they sustain have a very real effect on their life, some for a few days or weeks and others for many years.

Researchers from America have been looking at one factor which seems to have an effect on the severity of people's car crash injuries: alcohol. A link between alcohol consumption and more serious car accident injuries has long been observed by paramedics and hospital workers, but for a long time there was little research to actually prove this.

Alcohol and car crash injuries
However, in 2003, the University of Michigan decided to investigate this link further and see if there really was an identifiable correlation between serious car crash injuries and alcohol consumption.

Previous to the research, many people believed that this link could be explained by the fact that car crashes where alcohol is a factor tend to be of a more serious nature. However, the University of Michigan researchers discovered that although this may be true, alcohol also makes our bodies more vulnerable to injury.

They looked at 1,362 car accidents in the study, and found that people who had been drinking alcohol suffered car crash injuries that were on average 30% more serious than those who had not.

A spokesperson for the Injury Research Centre at the University of Michigan explained why this might be the case.

He said, "acute and chronic alcohol abuse have a number of adverse effects on the body that could conceivably increase the severity of an injury.

"These include, but are not limited to, effects on the body's blood clotting system that could result in an increased potential for bleeding, a decreased tolerance for low blood pressure or shock, an increase in dangerous heart beats and rhythms from impacts to the chest, and an increase in the amount of injury to particular organs, such as the brain or spinal cord."

He went on, "Implications for injury prevention are substantial. Having a designated driver is not completely adequate in protecting you from the harm that alcohol can do if you are involved in a crash."

Claiming car accident compensation
If you have suffered a car crash injury through no fault of your own perhaps you were a passenger in someone else's car, or another driver crashed into your car you should consider claiming personal injury compensation.

At YouClaim, we offer a friendly, straightforward approach to making a compensation claim for car crash injuries. We will explain every step of the claims process to you in plain English, and only go ahead with claiming if you are certain that you wish to do so. All of the personal injury solicitors on our panel have an excellent success rate and are amongst the most experienced in the UK, so you can be confident that you will be represented by the very best.

There is absolutely nothing to pay when making a no win, no fee claim through YouClaim, no matter what the outcome of your case, so you don't need to worry about being left with a bill to pay at the end of the day.

If you would like to claim for a car crash injury, please get in contact with us today. You can do this by telephoning us on 0800 10 757 95, requesting a call back by filling out an online form, or initiating a private e-chat with one of our advisors.