I was hurt badly when I was rear-ended in my SUV. My doctor wrote a report verifying my injuries but the insurance company denied my claim. What’s wrong?
It may be because your receiver hitch protected your truck from damage and transferred all of the force of the impact to you!
Today nearly 40 percent of the vehicles on the road have receiver hitches. Due to the tremendous strength of the hitch structure even hard impacts to the rear of your vehicle cause little property damage but increase the risk of injury by 22 percent according to a recent study.
In a passenger car the entire rear of the vehicle is intended to absorb impact. From the Urethane bumper cover to the foam impact strip and the steel structural bumper that is actually mounted to shock absorbers. They are all designed to absorb impact and slow the pulse of force imparted on your body in a rear-end collision. Even the frame of a passenger car is designed with crumple zones to protect you from injury. All of these features increase property damage to your car but decrease the likelihood of injury to your body. Pickups and SUVs are not required to have these features. Instead they are designed with extra heavy duty frames. Then, the incredibly strong receiver hitch is bolted or welded directly to the frame. So, in a rear end collision all of that crash energy is transferred directly through the frame to you!
According to the same study, rear-end collisions resulting in changes in acceleration even below twelve miles per hour caused neck injuries. Does your attorney employ cutting edge science to help prove your claim? He should!