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Sickness absence, disability pension, and permanent medical impairment among car occupants injured in a crash

This PhD thesis, written by Rasmus Elrud, presents a new perspective of health loss after a car crash by examining the short- and long-term situation among people injured, in terms of sickness absence (SA) and disability pension (DP) and relating them to permanent medical impairment (PMI), the definition of serious injury used in Sweden. The overall aim was to generate knowledge about SA, DP, and PMI among injured passenger car occupants of working age.

The work was done by VIRTUAL’s associate partner Folksam in collaboration with Karolinska Institutet in Stockholm. The results highlight the greater injury risk for females in traffic accidents. The report also highlights the dominance of Whiplash Associated Disorders (WAD). Looking at injuries to car occupants with long lasting consequences, WAD on its own account for more injuries than all other injury types together.

This thesis once more shows the urgency of the safety problems addressed in VIRTUAL.