Posted On September 17, 2020 Personal Injury
We may associate sideswipe collision accidents with relatively minor vehicle damage like scrapes, dents, and missing trim. Most of us do not think of these collisions as potentially catastrophic and deadly incidents, but some are.
Side-to-side collisions between vehicles can lead to horrific crashes that leave victims seriously or fatally injured. In this blog post, we explore these accidents in detail and describe the ways you can protect your health and your rights if you fall victim to one.
To learn more about your legal rights to compensation after suffering injuries in a sideswipe collision accident, contact an experienced car accident injury lawyer near you for a free case evaluation.
According to Popular Mechanics, more than 840,000 sideswipe accidents occur annually in the United States due to vehicle blind spots.
While blind spot-related accidents play a role in sideswipe accidents, the other causes include:
This is not a complete list, of course. No matter what scenario leads to a sideswipe collision, victims can suffer serious injuries that disrupt their lives. An experienced car accident injury lawyer can help those victims obtain the compensation they deserve from the at-fault parties.
A sideswipe accident involves an impact between the side of one vehicle and the side of another. Sometimes, that impact can cause serious vehicle damage and injuries to passengers in its own right.
Sometimes, however, the impact strikes a glancing blow that, while doing relatively minor damage to the vehicles, causes one or both drivers to lose control. After the initial sideswipe impact, vehicles can spin or veer from their lanes and end up in secondary collisions. Those secondary collisions represent the biggest danger of sideswipe collisions and may cause the worst injuries.
Those injuries can include:
These are just some of the potential injuries a victim of a sideswipe collision accident can face. No matter what kind of injury your sideswipe car accident caused you or a loved one, an experienced motor vehicle accident lawyer can fight to make sure you recover compensation for the harm you suffered.
Any person, company, or government agency responsible for causing a sideswipe collision can face legal liability for the harm victims suffer because of it. However, obtaining the compensation victims deserve from a party at-fault for a sideswipe accident takes the skill and experience of a car accident injury lawyer. Here’s why.
Victims of sideswipe accidents often assume that the other driver whose vehicle collided with theirs should have financial responsibility for their damages. In many cases, they are right. However, that assumption may not capture the whole picture. Multiple parties could face legal liability for causing a sideswipe accident.
They frequently include:
Experienced lawyers for sideswipe accident victims frequently investigate a crash to identify all parties whose unreasonably dangerous decisions and actions contributed to it. The more parties who bear financial responsibility for victims’ injuries, the better victims’ chances of recovering the compensation they need and deserve to pay for treating their injuries.
Obtaining full and fair compensation for a sideswipe crash victim also requires a thorough understanding of how the accident affected the victim’s life.
Although every case is different, skilled car accident injury lawyers will usually explore the following categories of damages and assign a dollar value to each to reflect the harm done to the victim.
Only by evaluating the categories of damages can a victim’s car accident lawyer know how much money the victim has the right to recover. Determining this number ensures that the victim obtains full and fair compensation.
Insurance laws vary from state to state, but if you live in a state with no-fault or personal injury protection (PIP) automobile insurance laws, you generally must first turn to your own insurance to cover medical and other expenses after a car accident, no matter who bears the blame for causing it.
PIP laws try to relieve the courts of lengthy accident claims. Under no-fault laws, you don’t need to prove negligence in a contentious lawsuit to obtain benefits. In theory, this makes for a faster resolution when a minor accident takes place. You may, however, need a car accident lawyer to keep your own PIP carrier from denying or reducing your compensation.
Victims of sideswipe collision accidents often struggle to understand their PIP insurance and how it affects their rights to seek compensation. Insurers rarely write the policies so that everyday people can understand them. An experienced car accident injury lawyer can help you understand the rules, how the law applies to your situation, and can develop a legal strategy to help you obtain the maximum compensation available under the law for your injuries and losses.
After a sideswipe collision crash, you may not know what to do to get the compensation you deserve. Every crash has its unique aspects, of course, so victims may face different challenges. Still, in our experience, victims can often benefit from following these tips.
Many sideswipe accidents lead to such severe vehicle damage and injuries that no one thinks twice before calling first responders and staying at the scene. However, drivers sometimes make the mistake of thinking that they do not need to call 911 because the only damage they can see consists of cosmetic scrapes, dents, and broken trim on their vehicles.
Do not be one of those drivers. Always stop to call 911 for your own and others’ safety. The stress of getting into a car accident can mask the pain of an injury that you or someone else suffered. Leaving the scene when someone may have gotten hurt could put your health and legal rights at risk. Do not chance it. Stay where you are and call first responders.
When EMTs arrive at the accident scene, let them check you over. Take an ambulance ride to the hospital if they recommend it. Even if they do not, follow up within 24 hours with your primary care doctor or at an urgent care center. Many car accident injuries do not necessarily show symptoms right away, but doctors can diagnose them with simple tests.
Rather than risking your health by merely assuming that you are okay, let a medical professional examine you to rule out unseen injuries that could cause major health complications. Never try to tough it out after an accident. By visiting a doctor, you not only protect your health, you also generate medical records that your lawyer can use to help prove your damages.
Virtually any motor vehicle accident, a sideswipe crash included, can result in serious injuries and significant expenses. As a sideswipe collision victim, you may have the legal right to receive significant financial compensation. To protect and take advantage of those rights, however, you need an experienced car accident injury lawyer to represent you—and the sooner you meet with a lawyer, the better your chances of obtaining the compensation you deserve.
The first meeting with a lawyer is usually free of charge, and virtually all lawyers represent sideswipe accident injury clients on contingency. In other words, lawyers do not get paid unless they secure compensation for their clients’ injuries and losses. You have nothing to lose by contacting an experienced car accident attorney today for your free case evaluation.