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What a Car Accident Lawyer 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. A car accident lawyer reviewing one of these crashes will usually start with the sequence of events, from each car's speed to the signals that controlled traffic.
What causes rear-end collisions
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. A car 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 vehicle that cuts in and stops short, brake lights that fail or a vehicle backing up can shift some or all of the fault. In a chain-reaction crash, 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 a rapid back-and-forth movement of the head. Symptoms such as neck pain and headaches may not appear 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, along with imaging such as an MRI when a doctor orders one.
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. Typical causes include failing to yield on a left turn and running a red light or a stop sign. A car's sides have less space to absorb crash forces than its front or rear, which is why the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) rates side protection in a separate side-impact crash test. Occupants on the struck side can suffer serious injuries, including traumatic brain injury and 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 accident 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 often shared. 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 https://rafaelphnj532.focalledger.com/posts/evidence-after-a-car-accident-police-reports-and-dashcam-video small number of jurisdictions still follow contributory negligence, which can bar recovery for even slight fault. An automobile accident lawyer can explain which rule applies where the crash happened.
A note on deadlines
Every 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.