PHOTOGRAPH DOCUMENTATION OF MOTOR VEHICLE DAMAGE BY EMERGENCY MEDICAL TECHNICIANS: IMPLEMENTATION AND ONE YEAR'S EXPERIENCE

Despite the importance of vehicle damage as an indicator in injury severity, a recent study has shown that emergency medical service (EMS) run reports do not have adequate vehicle damage documentation when compared with vehicle photographs. A subsequent multicenter feasibility trial demonstrated that emergency medical technicians (EMTs) can take photographs quickly in adverse weather and different lighting conditions and that the area and severity of vehicle damage can be determined from instant photographs better than from EMS run reports. The implementation and one year experience with a systematic method of EMTs' photographing vehicle damage at the crash scene and bringing the images with the patient to the emergency department is described. Different degrees of exterior damage, intrusion into the occupant's space, and steering wheel, dash and windshield damage were demonstrated in the images. These images were utilized routinely by receiving physicians to aid in their patient assessment. Receiving emergency physicians reported the images to be helpful because they provided objective documentation of vehicle damage. For the covering abstract of the conference see TRIS 00663162.

Language

  • English

Media Info

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Filing Info

  • Accession Number: 00719383
  • Record Type: Publication
  • Source Agency: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
  • Report/Paper Numbers: HS-041 730
  • Files: HSL, TRIS, USDOT
  • Created Date: Mar 6 2000 12:00AM