Side Impact Car Accidents

Denver Attorney for T-Bone Car Accident

Side impact collisions, often called T-bone collisions, are some of the most common car accidents today. At The Law Offices of Dianne L. Sawaya LLC, we see many personal injury cases resulting from side impact car accidents. If you’ve been injured in a car accident in the Denver region, our legal team may be able to help you pursue financial compensation through a personal injury lawsuit.

Side Impact Accidents: The Statistics

Side-impact crashes can be very serious because unlike rear-end and front-end collisions, the vehicle is not able to absorb the impact of the crash by crumpling up. Airbags and seatbelts provide valuable protection when another vehicle collides with your own, but the risk of sustaining a serious injury is still very high.

According to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety,

• There were 21,102 fatalities in 2014 resulting from passenger vehicle collisions.
• Side impact car collisions accounted for 25% of fatalities in 2014.
• 73% of those killed in car accidents in 2014 were drivers.

Data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration states that:

• Side impact collisions are responsible for approximately 9,000 fatalities in any given year.
• The percentage of fatal side-impact collisions rose steadily from 1975 to 2004 but began decreasing as more vehicles were fitted with protective crash gear (such as extra padding and side airbags).

Common Causes of Side Impact Accidents

Because there are so many things that factor into the severity of a car accident, it can be difficult to understand exactly what type of injury compensation you may be eligible to receive. There are many possible causes for T-bone car accidents, but the most common causes are related to driver negligence and distraction behind the wheel. Examples of this may include:

• Running a red light or stop sign
• Not seeing a stop sign
• “Hidden” side streets or driveways
• Turning out of a driveway or side street without checking for oncoming traffic
• Entering an intersection without having the right of way

In most cases, side-impact collisions are a result of another driver’s negligence. However, side-impact crashes can also occur when a car spins, rolls, or slides on the road and collides with a freestanding object (such as a telephone pole).

Common Injuries From Side Impact Accidents

The injuries sustained in a T-bone collision can range from mild bruising to very severe, and possibly fatal, injuries. If you’ve been injured in a side-impact accident, you may have encountered one or more of the following injuries:

• Head, neck, and spine injuries
• Broken bones
• Chest, abdominal, and pelvic injuries
• Lacerations from shattered glass and/or metal
• Bruising and/or brush burns from seatbelts and airbags

Because there is no “crumple zone” for side-impact collisions, drivers and passengers who are injured in these accidents often sustain very serious injuries. In general, the closer you are to the impact, the more serious your injuries will likely be. Drivers and/or passengers on the near-side of a T-bone crash typically sustain injuries that are far more severe than drivers and/or passengers who are sitting on the far-side of the crash.

Even when an injury is not life-threatening, it can still be very expensive to treat and can affect your overall quality of life. Lost wages, loss of employment, expensive medical bills, and even permanent disfigurement and pain and suffering can all factor into personal injury compensation.

If you’ve been injured in a side-impact collision, contact the Denver personal injury attorneys at The Law Offices of Dianne Sawaya. Our compassionate and knowledgeable legal team will be able to schedule a confidential, free consultation with you to discuss the details of your crash and to determine if a personal injury case is the best action to take. We’ll help you understand the processes involved in a personal injury lawsuit and we’ll make sure that you get the injury compensation you rightly deserve.