A pilot study was conducted to collect data on the financial consequences of serious and worse traffic injuries through the use of personal interviews. Study objectives included the development of feasible methodology and the collection of illustrative costs. A sample of 120 case vehicle occupants was randomly drawn from a population of 241 Washtenaw County case vehicle occupants who had sustained serious (OAIS-4), critical (OAIS-5), or fatal (OAIS 6-10) injuries during the period of December, 1967, through December, 1974. The results indicate that a personal interview is a reliable method for collecting consequences of OAIS-4 and OAIS-5 injuries but that locating accident victims can be difficult. Due to consistent negative reactions, interviews were not conducted for fatal cases. Data on lost wages, medical costs, impairment, property damage, legal costs, activity restrictions, and loss recovery were collected. Results of this and a previous study of OAIS-1 to -3 costs are summarized. While the results are not definitive, some insight into the increase in costs at high levels of injury severity can be gained. /HSRI/.
Samenvatting