Broadside Collisions and the Damage They Cause
If you have been the victim of a broadside collision, you probably remember that sickening moment when you realized that a car traveling at a high rate of speed was about to hit the side of your vehicle and there was nothing that you could do to avoid it. These auto accidents are happening at intersections throughout Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Delaware and lead to serious injuries and sometimes death for its victims.
Overall, there are three major types of vehicular accidents: head-on collisions, rear-end collisions, and broadside collisions. Read-end collisions are the most common type of auto accident and while they do lead to serious injuries in many cases, these also are the type of accident from which a person may be able to walk away. Head-on collisions result in the most fatalities because of the speed of the vehicles and the impact physics. Broadside crashes, also known as side impact collisions, side angle crashes, or being T-Boned, result in the second greatest number of fatalities for a number of reasons.
Most cars on the road today have the least amount of safety features on the sides, as opposed to the front and rear of the vehicle, so there is a minimal buffer between the driver or passenger and the impacting vehicle. The advent of side-impact airbags has reduced some, but not all, of the risk. When a vehicle impacts another car on the side, there is nowhere for it to go but into the driver and passenger compartment, while a hood or a trunk may absorb some of the impact in other types of accidents. In addition, these types of collisions often occur when one vehicle has run a red light, meaning that the accident happens at a high rate of speed. In addition to the initial crash, the impacted vehicle may be pushed into another car or a solid object.
When someone has been involved in a broadside collision, there are many injuries that he may have as a result of the accident, including:
- Broken or crushed bones;
- Severe abrasions;
- Organ damage;
- Traumatic brain injury;
- Side-to-side whiplash;
- Spinal cord injuries that may lead to paraplegia or quadriplegia; and
- Permanent disfigurement.
Although the victims of this type of accident often suffer from painful, long-term injuries, it can be even worse when the vehicle being impacted is a passenger car and the driver who broadsides the vehicle is in an SUV, van, light truck, or tractor-trailer.
Side impact accidents are almost always the result of a negligent driver. When reviewing this type of collision, there often is a factual pattern that involves:
- Aggressive driving (e., road rage);
- Distracted driving, including texting while driving;
- Violating traffic rules; or
- Driving under the influence of drugs/alchohol.
Frequently, this type of auto accident occurs in an intersection, when a driver runs a red light, fails to yield the right-of-way, or collides with a turning vehicle.
When a person has been involved in a broadside accident, there often an overwhelming amount of medical bills to cover one’s emergency medical care, as well as long-term treatment and rehabilitation. In addition, a person who has been involved in a devastating motor vehicle crash will have lost wages and may never be able to return to the career he or she had before the car accident, resulting in the loss of future earnings. Moreover, an auto accident victim will suffer from debilitating pain on a daily basis and deserves compensation for that suffering. The dedicated auto accident attorneys at Lundy Law are ready to fight to get you everything that you deserve as a result of the accident and hold the negligent party accountable for the devastation that he or she caused. To discuss your accident in a free and confidential consultation, please call us at either (866) 281-8612 or 1-800-LundyLaw, or complete our free online consultation form.
