New Federal Research Confirms Women Face Higher Injury Risks in Car Crashes

Recent federal research has reinforced what many injury victims and safety advocates have long suspected: women are significantly more likely than men to suffer serious injuries in motor vehicle crashes, even when crash severity and vehicle type are similar.  This confirms what the Virginia and West Virginia personal injury lawyers at WilliamsFord have long suspected, based on the number of times we have seen family crashes where a woman is hurt much worse than the man in a crash, and the situations where a female driver is badly hurt in a crash despite very little visible damage to her car.

One of the reasons for this disparity is that vehicle safety testing in the United States has been based primarily on crash test dummies modeled after the “average” adult male body. While a smaller “female” dummy has existed, it was largely a scaled‑down version of the male model and did not accurately represent female anatomy or injury biomechanics.  Most females have a different pelvis structure, neck strength, and lower‑extremity alignment as compared to men, which can significantly affect how forces are transferred during a crash, influencing injury outcomes for women in ways older testing methods failed to measure.

In response to these findings, federal regulators have approved the design of a new, advanced female crash test dummy known as the THOR‑05F. Unlike earlier models, the THOR‑05F is built from the ground up based on female anatomical data and includes more than 150 sensors—three times as many as traditional dummies—allowing engineers to better evaluate injury risk to the head, spine, pelvis, and lower limbs.

Why is this important in a Virginia or West Virginia personal injury case?

According to experienced personal injury lawyer Peter Pentony, it matters when insurance companies try to downplay claims by females.  “This data pushes back on the insurance company’s bogus claims that a woman’s injuries don’t match the crash. The NHTSA data now proves that women face much higher risks of serious injuries, especially to the hips, legs, feet, and ankles, even in crashes insurers might label as ‘minor.’ That makes it harder for adjusters to dismiss injuries as exaggerated or unrelated. For injured women, that can mean stronger claims, better leverage, and fairer outcomes.”

If you’ve been hurt in a car or truck accident in Leesburg, Winchester, Front Royal, Manassas, Martinsburg, or any place else in Northern Virginia and the eastern panhandle of West Virginia, even if the property damage is minor, contact the car accident lawyers at WilliamsFord today.