Virtual Reality Games Spark Real Insurance Claims

 By Catherine Powell

Image courtesy Pixabay

Video games have been wildly popular for decades.  Where else can you race cars, ski the Alps, or shoot zombies dead in the comfort of your own home?  While these digital flights of fantasy usually limit the mayhem to a TV or a computer, a recent development in gaming technology has started to bring flying fists to bear on the real world.  What I’m referring to are virtual reality headsets that allow gamers to immerse themselves in a virtual world.  So real is the experience that the number of participants VR-related filing insurance claims has skyrocketed in the past few years.  If you or anyone in your family is into VR gaming, you owe it to yourself to find out how to protect them and your property.

Is Virtual Reality all too real? – Apparently, it can be, according to emergency room doctors.  After the Christmas holidays, ER departments saw a spike in injuries caused by VR gamers who either tripped over furniture while wearing a VR headset or who inadvertently injured another member of their immediate family while emersed in a VR game.  Below are some real-world examples:

1. Spartacus takes a spill. – Jake Masters told the Wall Street Journal that he dislocated his shoulder and needed physical therapy while “fighting” in a virtual coliseum. What’s more: Masters had injured the same shoulder in an IRL boxing match years earlier, and although he wasn’t “supposed to do real boxing after the first injury,” he thought playing the VR game would be alright because it wasn’t real. (Quoted from an article published on Futurism.) 

2. Roll Over Rambo? – The Journal of Medical Case Reports published a study about an otherwise healthy 31-year-old man who broke his neck while playing a VR game that involved “a combination of shoulder, arm, and head movements while wearing a VR headset.” He came into a clinic while suffering pain in his neck and it was there that doctors discovered he had a traumatic fracture at the nape of his neck that they determined was caused by the “intense” and “repetitive” motions he made during the unidentified game. The article goes on to add that the patient had no history of prior spinal injuries.  They concluded that the injury was exacerbated by the weight of the VR headset combined with VR hand controllers that the patient admitted he used in playing sessions that lasted from 1-4 hours per day.

3. The Metaverse metes out mayhem. – In a Wall Street Journal article entitled, VR to the ER, Sarah Needleman and Salvador Rodriguez reported that a Baltimore teenager who was playing a VR shooter game broke his knee after losing his balance while wearing a VR headset.  While the teen's injuries weren’t life-threatening, he will be on crutches until his injuries heal.  

4. When VR intersects with reality. – The problem with VR is that it’s sometimes virtually impossible to discern where VR ends, and the real world begins.  Even in less strenuous virtual environments, VR programs make it hard for devotees to see the virtual forest for the trees.  This causes some people to try to put their VR controllers down on furniture that isn’t really there.  It’s been known to cause others using VR apps to either knock expensive objects off real desks or punch coworkers seated next to them in the face.  Some who spend a great deal of time in the Metaverse have even found it difficult to reintegrate with the real world.  In a blog on Kotaku.com entitled Seven Stories of Injuries and other VR Hazards, writer Nathan Grayson pointed out, “Justin Liebregts hasn’t physically cut, maimed, or burned himself in VR, but he has found himself wandering strange mental territories (and also 18th-floor balconies) after using VR for extended periods.  I’ve seen people get close to a wall and swing and smash into the wall. That’s the worst. I also remember we were developing an earlier prototype for our shooter game, and in it you’re on a pillar in this large area. You can move around, and you don’t fall. You get really used to that. Our office [in real life] was on the 18th floor, and when you go onto the balcony, you have to remind yourself, ‘OK, this is real life. I cannot just walk out there and not... die.” https://kotaku.com/seven-stories-of-injuries-and-other-vr-hazards-175669751

Why is VR virtually dangerous? – The problem with many VR apps is that they’re designed to work in a virtual space that doesn’t always conform to the area you use t hemin.  This can result in everything from faceplants and pratfalls to injuries and broken furniture.  While I have yet to find an example of someone inadvertently killing themselves while using VR, it’s virtually only a matter of time.  That being said, if you or someone you know engages in VR, it’s vitally important that you clear out a space big enough to encompass the game’s virtual environment and clear the area of all other people, pets, and breakables.

Has Virtual Reality spawned real insurance claims? – You bet they have and it’s a growth industry.  For example, the insurance carrier Aviva reported a 31% jump in claims in 2021 over that of a year prior and a 68% jump in claims since 2016.  From a health insurance side, ER doctors have reported a jump in VR-related facial traumas, fractures, and concussions to both adults and children.  Pediatricians recommend that children be limited to no more than 2 hours of VR use per day.  As for adults, there have been reports of marathon 48-hour VR sessions.  While the empirical data on long-term VR use is sketchy at best, it’s safe to assume that losing yourself in virtual reality for extended periods of time could prove hazardous to your health, not to mention your furnishings.

Catherine Powell is the owner of A Plus All Florida, Insurance in Orange Park, Florida.  To find out more about saving money on all your insurance needs, check out her website at http://aplusallfloridainsuranceinc.com/