The major findings from the follow-up study relate to the following: (1) In the two years following the original survey, 40 claims, or about 10 percent, had been closed. The total expected payments (to date plus future) for the remaining open claims were 29 percent higher than estimated at the time of the original survey; (2) Approximately 80 percent of the seriously injured persons were living at home at time of the follow-up study. (3) Nearly 15 percent of the surviving seriously injured persons were working. About 61 percent of the claimants were not employed as a direct result of the auto accident. (4) The majority of the injured persons (83 percent) had participated in some type of physical rehabilitation procedure; and (5) These claims were expected to remain open for a substantial length of time. For the claims still open, the claim reviewers estimated that the files would remain open an average of 31 years from the date of the accident. About three-fourths of the open claims were expected to remain open for 20 years or more from the date of the accident and over half were expected to remain open for 30 years or more
Abstract