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 name of the crash describes how the vehicles met, but it does not settle who was at fault. An auto accident lawyer reviewing these crashes usually begins with the sequence of events, from each car's speed to the signals that controlled traffic.
Why rear-end crashes happen
Many state traffic laws bar drivers from following another vehicle more closely than is reasonable and prudent, taking into account the speed of traffic and the condition of the road. Distracted driving is a common factor. NHTSA explains 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 https://blogfreely.net/blathaldyf/uninsured-motorist-pip-and-medpay-coverage-after-a-car-crash if distraction is suspected.
The trailing driver is often found at fault in a rear-end crash, 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.
Neck injuries after a rear-end crash
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 low-speed rear-end crashes, citing minor 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.
How T-bone collisions happen
A T-bone collision happens when the front of one vehicle strikes the side of another, usually at an intersection. Common causes include running a red light or a stop sign and failing to yield on a left turn. The sides of a car have less room to absorb crash forces than the front or rear, which is why the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) rates side protection in a separate side-impact crash test. People seated on the struck side can suffer serious injuries such as traumatic brain injury or pelvic fractures.
These crashes often turn on who had the right of way. Evidence can include 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 store speed and braking data from the seconds before impact. A car crash lawyer typically moves quickly to collect video, because many systems record over old footage within days or weeks.
Shared fault and comparative negligence
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 level of fault. A small number of jurisdictions still follow contributory negligence, which can bar recovery for any fault at all. A car accident attorney will know which rule applies in the state where the crash happened.
Deadlines and general information
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.