RGB,
I read it to mean that there was a higher chance of damage with a prec search and landing, and this is because you are guaranteed of contacting the ground, but the level of injury was less serious as the velocities involved are relatively low.
There was a higher chance of an accident with inadvertant VFR flight into IMC and if an accident occurred, the injuries were more likely to be very serious or fatal due to higher velocities/extreme attitudes.
But the best approach of all was to adopt a proactive approach, maintain a 'weather eye,' and avoid getting caught in the first place.