What a Car Accident Attorney Looks at After a Rear-End or T-Bone Crash
Rear-end crashes and T-bone collisions are two crash types that come up often in injury claims. The label describes how the vehicles met, but it does not settle who was at fault. A car accident lawyer reviewing one of these crashes usually begins with the sequence of events, from each car's speed to the signals that controlled traffic.
How rear-end collisions happen
Many state traffic laws bar drivers from following another vehicle more closely than is reasonable and prudent, with attention to the speed of traffic and the condition of the road. Distraction is a frequent factor. NHTSA notes that sending or reading a text takes a driver's eyes off the road for 5 seconds, which at 55 mph is like driving the length of a football field with eyes closed. An auto accident attorney will sometimes request the other driver's phone records if distraction is suspected.
In many rear-end crashes the trailing driver is found at fault, but that is not automatic. A car that cuts in and brakes suddenly, brake lights that fail or a vehicle backing up can shift some or all of the fault. In a multi-vehicle pileup, each impact is a separate event, and a middle vehicle pushed forward may not be responsible for the second impact.
Whiplash and soft tissue injuries
Rear-end impacts are often linked to whiplash, a neck injury caused by the head snapping back and forth. Symptoms such as neck pain and headaches may not appear until hours after the crash, which is one reason prompt medical care matters. Insurers sometimes dispute injury claims from https://privatebin.net/?2204e2ba68ba1e5b#C3zFvzKcmro3CAGozjAr3bijY42WdUp9Dn73rUpUhRHL low-speed rear-end crashes, pointing to light vehicle damage. Medical records and photos of both vehicles help answer that argument, together with imaging such as an MRI when a doctor orders it.
Why side-impact crashes happen
A T-bone collision happens when the front of one vehicle strikes the side of another, usually at an intersection. Typical causes include failing to yield on a left turn and running a red light or a stop sign. The sides of a car have less room to absorb crash forces than the front or rear, and the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) evaluates side protection in its own side-impact crash test. Occupants on the struck side can suffer serious injuries, including traumatic brain injury and pelvic fractures.
Disputes in these crashes often come down to who had the right of way. Useful evidence includes signal timing records, intersection camera video, nearby business surveillance footage, dashcam video and witness statements, as well as the event data recorder (EDR) in each car, which may hold speed and braking data from the seconds before the crash. A car crash lawyer will usually try to collect video quickly, because many systems record over old footage within days or weeks.
When both drivers share fault
Fault is not always all or nothing. Most states apply some form of comparative negligence, which lowers a recovery by the injured person's share of fault. Under modified comparative negligence, a person found at least 50 or 51 percent at fault, depending on the state, may recover nothing, while pure comparative negligence allows a reduced recovery at any percentage of fault. A few jurisdictions still apply contributory negligence, which can bar recovery for even slight fault. A car accident attorney will know which rule applies in the state where the crash happened.
A note on deadlines
Each state sets its own statute of limitations for injury claims, and claims against a government agency can require written notice much sooner. This is general information and not legal advice, and no article can predict how a claim will turn out.