Severe upper limb injuries in four passengers of a ‘People Carrier’; the contribution of design faults

Four passengers of a ‘People Carrier’ in a single vehicle motor accident sustained severe left upper limb trauma, when the vehicle rolled onto the near side. These injuries were directly attributable to the large glass interface between patient and road. The glass windows shattered on contact, providing no protection and in effect created a secondary injury mechanism. We advocate both the use of laminated side windows and mandatory testing of ‘roll-over’ characteristics for these ‘People Carriers’ to reduce the incidence of such injuries.