Whiplash rates turning heads in BC

British Columbia's claims rate for whiplash, about 900 per 100 000 population, is more than twice the rate for any other jurisdiction in the world, the BC Medical Journal reports. Dr. Murray Allen, a former associate professor of kinesiology at Simon Fraser University, says whiplash accounts for about 60% of all injuries reported following vehicle collisions in BC, compared with 35% worldwide (BCMJ 2002;44:241-2). He says part of the “high claims behaviour” may be explained by lawyers' earning potential from such cases. — CMAJ