What You Should Know about Side-Impact Collisions
If you’ve ever been T-boned, you know how scary the experience can be—often without warning, your vehicle is slammed on the side, perhaps even sent spinning into other cars. Side-impact collisions, including broadside and T-bone crashes, can cause very serious injuries and are more likely to result in a fatality than other forms of accidents. Read on to learn more about side-impact collisions, and contact a knowledgeable Southern California car accident lawyer with any additional questions.
Causes of side-impact crashes
Side-impact crashes include all accidents where one car is hit on its side or at an angle, and encompass lateral side-swipe accidents, T-bone crashes, and broadside collisions. The most dangerous of these are broadside and T-bone collisions, where a vehicle collides with the side of another vehicle head-on. These types of collisions often occur in intersections, but they can also happen in busy parking lots. Drivers are apt to cause a broadside collision by failing to yield the right-of-way to oncoming cars, failing to stop at a red light or stop sign, or driving while distracted or intoxicated.
Why side-impact crashes pose a serious threat of injury
T-bone collisions and other forms of side-impact crashes are disproportionately responsible for injury accidents. Roughly 25% of all motor vehicle accident fatalities nationwide are caused by side-impact crashes. There are multiple reasons why side-impact collisions are so dangerous. While fatality rates from head-on collisions are declining due to new safety features in late-model cars, these rates remain steady among side-impact crashes. This is, in part, due to the fact that more safety improvements have been made to a car’s ability to sustain a front-end impact than a side impact. Windows and doors simply aren’t as able to absorb a heavy blow as are front ends and trunks. In many cases, the victim of a broadside crash has no warning that the collision is going to occur, and so does not have the chance to brake, accelerate out of the way, or brace for the impact. Additionally, cars and trucks that cause T-bone crashes by speeding through a red light are often traveling at high rates of speed. This intensifies the eventual collision. Victims of broadside crashes in California may have a cause of action against the at-fault driver and should consult a personal injury attorney as soon as possible after the accident.
If you’ve been the victim of a serious crash in Southern California, seek the money damages to which you’re entitled by contacting the dedicated, knowledgeable, and effective Palmdale personal injury lawyer Paul Kistler for a consultation on your case, at 661-206-6990.
