What a Car Accident Attorney Looks at After a Rear-End or T-Bone Crash

How Fault Works in Rear-End and T-Bone Car Accidents

Rear-end and T-bone collisions come up again and again in injury claims. The name of the crash describes how the vehicles met, but it does not settle who was at fault. A car accident attorney looking at either type of crash will usually start with the sequence of events, from each car's speed to the signals that controlled traffic.

How rear-end collisions happen

Many state traffic codes prohibit 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 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.

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 do not work or a vehicle backing up may shift part or all of the fault. In a chain-reaction crash, every impact is its own event, and a middle car pushed into the car ahead may not be at fault for that 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. Neck pain and headaches may not show up until hours after the crash, which is one reason prompt medical care matters. Insurance companies sometimes challenge injury claims after 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

In a T-bone crash, the front of one vehicle strikes the side of another, most often at an intersection. Common causes include running a red light or a stop sign and failing to yield on a left turn. A car's sides have less space to absorb crash forces than its front or rear, and the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) evaluates side protection in its own side-impact crash test. People seated on the struck side can suffer serious injuries such as traumatic brain injury or 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 https://telegra.ph/How-Long-a-Car-Accident-Claim-Takes-Stage-by-Stage-11-11 braking data from the seconds before the crash. A car accident lawyer will usually try to collect video quickly, since many systems overwrite footage within days or weeks.

Comparative negligence in these crashes

Fault is often shared. Most states use some version 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 even slight fault. An automobile accident lawyer 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 involving a government vehicle or 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.