According to the findings of a Thursday-released study by Highway Loss Data Institute, Toyota's small subcompact Yaris ranks the worst among personal injury claims following a vehicle crash.

The insurance study - based on the insurance-related figures for model years 2009-11 - found that for every 1,000 Toyota Yaris insured by the insurance industry, the rate of personal injury claims filed was nearly 28.5 times.

Following the Toyota Yaris in the second spot, with regard to risk of injury to occupants, was the small Suzuki crossover SX4, with 26.6 claims having been filed for every 1,000 SX4 vehicles insured.

Among the other vehicles which scored a poor ranking in the injury-risk measurement by Highway Loss Data Institute were Chevrolet's Aveo; Mitsubishi's Galant; Kia's Rio; Hyundai Accent's; Dodge's Avenger; and Nissan's Versa and Sentra.

The study also revealed that the vehicle which ranked the best among personal injury claims was the Porsche 911, with the lowest rate of 4.5 claims per 1,000 vehicles.

Noting that the statistics pertaining to injury claims data were a crucial supplement to the crash tests carried out by federal safety regulators and the insurance industry, Kim Hazelbaker - SVP of Highway Loss Data Institute - said that the study's results clearly showed that small cars ranked the worst among personal injury claims; and added: "Injury claims data show something that crash test results can't, and that's the role that vehicle size plays."