Insurance companies often link a vehicle’s physical damage to the severity of an occupant’s injuries. They typically argue that an accident that results in little or no physical damage could not have caused serious injuries. It’s assumed little force was transferred to the car’s occupants. This is the low-impact defense used by insurers to lower payouts.
However, studies have shown there is no reliable or direct correlation between vehicle damage and human injury severity in car accidents. A crash can cause minimal impact on a car, but result in serious injuries. Here is how this can happen:
Older vs. modern vehicles
When an accident occurs, a car’s kinetic energy (motion energy) is not destroyed; it’s transferred.
In older classic cars built with heavy, rigid steel, the energy is substantially transferred to occupants because the car does not absorb crash energy by deforming or breaking. Accordingly, a car may show limited exterior damage, but its occupants are subjected to stronger forces.
Modern cars have safety features, such as crumple zones, that convert kinetic energy into deformation energy (the mechanical work done to bend, fold and crush specific structural parts), thermal energy (heat) and sound energy (noise). Thus, a modern car can show much more visible external damage than an older one in an accident.
However, some safety features in modern vehicles absorb crash forces while staying intact. For example, in a fender-bender, the bumper’s plastic cover can bounce back to its shape. Such an accident can still transfer energy to occupants, yet the car shows little to no evidence of a crash. The inner parts of the bumper may have hidden damage. For instance, the reinforcement bars may have broken.
Minimal visible car damage after an accident does not necessarily mean force was not transferred to the occupants. If you sustained an injury in such a scenario, consider legal guidance to get the compensation you deserve.