|
| |
Effect of eliminating compensation for pain and suffering on the outcome of insurance claims for whiplash injury
|
TITLE: |
Effect of eliminating compensation for pain and suffering on the outcome
of insurance claims for whiplash injury [see comments] |
|
AUTHORS: |
Cassidy JD; Carroll LJ; Cote P; Lemstra M; Berglund A;
Nygren Å
|
|
AUTHOR AFFILIATION: |
Alberta Centre for Injury Control and Research, Department of Public Health
Sciences, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Canada. dcassidy@ualberta.ca
|
|
SOURCE: |
N Engl J Med 2000 Apr 20;342(16):1179-86 |
|
CITATION IDS: |
PMID: 10770984 UI: 20218605 |
|
COMMENT: |
Comment
in: N Engl J Med 2000 Apr 20;342(16):1211-3 |
|
ABSTRACT: |
BACKGROUND AND METHODS: The incidence and prognosis of whiplash injury from
motor vehicle collisions may be related to eligibility for compensation
for pain and suffering. On January 1, 1995, the tort-compensation system
for traffic injuries, which included payments for pain and suffering, in
Saskatchewan, Canada, was changed to a no-fault system, which did not include
such payments. To determine whether this change was associated with a decrease
in claims and improved recovery after whiplash injury, we studied a population-based
cohort of persons who filed insurance claims for traffic injuries between
July 1, 1994, and December 31, 1995. RESULTS: Of 9006 potentially eligible
claimants, 7462 (83 percent) met our criteria for whiplash injury. The six-month
cumulative incidence of claims was 417 per 100,000 persons in the last six
months of the tort system, as compared with 302 and 296 per 100,000, respectively,
in the first and second six-month periods of the no-fault system. The incidence
of claims was higher for women than for men in each period; the incidence
decreased by 43 percent for men and by 15 percent for women between the
tort period and the two no-fault periods combined. The median time from
the date of injury to the closure of a claim decreased from 433 days (95
percent confidence interval, 409 to 457) to 194 days (95 percent confidence
interval, 182 to 206) and 203 days (95 percent confidence interval, 193
to 213), respectively. The intensity of neck pain, the level of physical
functioning, and the presence or absence of depressive symptoms were strongly
associated with the time to claim closure in both systems. CONCLUSIONS:
The elimination of compensation for pain and suffering is associated with
a decreased incidence and improved prognosis of whiplash injury.
|
|
MAIN MESH HEADINGS: |
Insurance, Accident/*utilization
Insurance, Liability/*utilization
Neck Pain/*economics
Whiplash Injuries/*economics |
|
ADDITIONAL MESH HEADINGS: |
Accidents, Traffic/economics
Adult
Comparative Study
Female
Human
Incidence
Insurance Claim Reporting/statistics & numerical data
Insurance Claim Review/statistics & numerical data
Insurance, Accident/economics
Insurance, Accident/legislation & jurisprudence
Insurance, Accident/statistics & numerical data
Insurance, Liability/statistics & numerical data
Male
Neck Pain/etiology
Prognosis
Saskatchewan
Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
Time Factors
Whiplash Injuries/complications
Whiplash Injuries/epidemiology
2000/04
2000/25 09:00 |
|
PUBLICATION TYPES: |
JOURNAL ARTICLE |
|
LANGUAGES: |
Eng |
Du kan läsa
hela artikeln
om du registrerar dig på New England Journal
of Medicin.
Nedan följer ett Letter to the Editor från bl.a. Michael B Freeman...
| | |
Skyddas av
