Abstract
Causal analysis in traffic crash–related injury and death investigation is a common application of epidemiologic concepts and data. In combination with medical, biomechanical, and crash reconstruction principles, forensic epidemiology (FE) methods are used to quantify the efficacy of vehicle safety devices such as seat belts and air bags. This application of FE is demonstrated with several case study examples in this chapter. Additional case studies illustrate how FE methods are used to evaluate the probability of causation of injuries observed following lower speed collisions. The final case study illustrates an analysis of the most probable cause of a death following two high speed collisions, occurring within seconds of each other. Other examples in the chapter are used to demonstrate fallacious pitfalls commonly observed in causal evaluations of crash-related injury.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Title of host publication | Forensic Epidemiology |
| Subtitle of host publication | Principles and Practice |
| Editors | Michael D. Freeman, Maurice P. Zeegers |
| Publisher | Elsevier Inc. |
| Chapter | 11 |
| Pages | 287-314 |
| Number of pages | 28 |
| ISBN (Print) | 9780124045842 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 4 May 2016 |