Side impact collisions are more commonly referred to as “t-bone” traffic accidents. These can take place in different traffic situations. Depending on the situations, either driver might be legally liable for the accident – the driver who did the broadsiding or the driver who was broadsided.
How You Can Win Your Personal Injury Claim
Let us assume a scenario where you were driving your car through a road crossing on a green light when the other motorist blasted through a red light and hit your car on the driver’s side. We imagine another scenario where you are driving your vehicle through a different junction and the other motorist cuts your path in front of you and forces your car to hit the other car on the passenger side. In either of the above-stated situations, the other driver is liable for the accident though establishing his or her fault won’t be easy.
Side Impact Collisions
When a car hits the front or rear side of your vehicle, engine, trunk, bumper, seats will protect you from an injury. But when your vehicle is t-boned, a door and a window create a barrier between your car and the other car. That is why, side impact collisions cause severe car accident injuries and even lead to death of the motorist or passenger.
Side impact Collision causes death to 8,500-10, 000 people every year in the USA. All cars sold every year in the United States have to meet specific federal side-impact safety standards. However, the weight of the average vehicle is increasing and coupled with it, the age of the safety standards raises some inevitable questions whether the current standards are safe for the motorist and the passenger.
Proving Liability in T-Boned Collisions
In some cases, driver error and accident liability are very clear based on how a t-bone accident happened and the motorist may admit his or her fault. In either of the commonest t-bone situations – whether the other vehicle hits your car or cut in front of your car almost causing you to hit the other car – the other motorist will claim that you were liable for the accident.
Everything Starts at the Accident Scene
You may be present at the site of the t-bone car accident and wondering what next. The rules for side impact collisions are not much different from those for other car accidents. You should call in the police, get contact details from witnesses present at the accident scene, and should not admit being at fault to the other driver. You should also make sure to take photos of the scene and damage if possible.
Traffic Signals
If any traffic light-related question comes up, note the time of the accident if possible. Though it is not a surefire tool, it is possible in some situations to compare the time against the automated programming of the traffic light.
Vehicle Defects
In side impact collision cases, a common complication sometimes gets obvious in different manifestations of faulty parts. The other motorist may have violated the red signal because his or her brakes failed. But it might be an issue with the defective motor part or the driver’s failure to maintain the vehicle in good condition.
Final Words – Get Legal Help
If you have suffered an injury in a T-bone accident, you should consult an attorney to be sure if your case has the merits for compensation claim.
