Stories about drunken drivers walking away from traffic
accidents are not mere apocrypha. They show up in our Verdict &
Settlement Reports. Turns out, science may back up the notion
that God protects drunks and fools. Alcohol intoxication – even
at a low level – cushions the blow for a person suffering a
traumatic injury, according to a new study reported from the
University of Illinois. Injury epidemiologist Lee Friedman
analyzed Illinois Trauma Registry data for 190,612 patients
treated at trauma centers between 1995 and 2009 who were tested
for blood alcohol content. Their BAC ranged from 0 to 0.5
percent at the time they were admitted to the trauma unit, and
the patients suffered injuries from a variety of sources.
Alcohol benefited patients across the range of injuries,
including fractures, internal injuries and open wounds, with
burns being the only exception. One popular science website
interpreted the results to mean that, “not only does an
appreciable blood alcohol level seem to increase a trauma vic