Rollover crashes are infrequent and account for approximately 2% to 3% of all vehicle crashes in the US annually. However, when they do occur they are more likely to result in a serious injury or fatality than some other types of crashes. In rollovers, the thorax has been identified as one of the three most frequently seriously injured body regions. As such, research has been carried out over the last few decades to understand better environmental, vehicle and occupant variables in a rollover crash which contribute to an occupant sustaining a serious, i.e. of severity greater than or equal to three on the Abbreviated Injury Scale (AIS 3+), thoracic injury. The findings from the research described in this paper will provide information for the development of a dynamic rollover crash test protocol which includes assessment of thoracic injuries. The aim of this study is to determine if there is an association between vehicle panel damage and AIS3+ thoracic injuries. NASS CDS data from 2001 to 2012 was examined for single vehicle rollover crashes with occupants receiving serious thoracic injuries (cases) and those without thoracic injuries (controls). Vehicle panel damage for both cases and controls were coded and logistic regression performed to determine if there is an association between serious thoracic injury and vehicle panel damage.

The result of this study indicates that there is an association between thoracic injury and damage to the top-half of the left front door, top-half of the right front door and left side of the vehicle rearwards of the B-pillar.