How Is Fault Established in a T-Bone Car Accident?

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Side-impact car accidents, also known as broadside or T-bone collisions, accounted for approximately 23% of all car accident fatalities in the U.S. according to the IIHS.

These deadly accidents also account for hundreds of thousands of injuries every year, many of them serious.

One of the challenges that car accident lawyers address when working with clients injured in T-bone accidents is establishing who is at fault.

Any compensation due to clients of car accident law firms depends on individual circumstances and being able to successfully determine fault through a detailed investigation of the crash.

T-Bone Car Accidents Cause Serious Injuries

Car accident lawyers see many clients who have been injured in side-impact collisions, as they are responsible for a high number of seriously sometimes fatally injured vehicle occupants.

The NHTSA estimates that there are as many as 8,000 fatalities every year due to side-impact collisions, with hundreds of thousands more suffering serious injuries such as spinal injuries, whiplash, traumatic brain injuries, broken bones, and other debilitating injuries.

Considering the seriousness of these crashes and the complexity of the events surrounding them, it is essential to find an experienced car accident law firm to work with that can determine fault so injured victims can get the compensation they deserve.

Common Causes of T-Bone Accidents

When determining fault in a T-bone car accident, it is important to first consider the many events that can lead to them, as the fault may lay with whichever driver exhibited these driving behaviors:

Speeding
Running A Red Light or Stop Sign
Aggressive or Distracted Driving
Turning Across Lanes
Failure to Yield
Brake or Mechanical Failure at A Stop

How Is Fault Determined In A T-Bone Collision?

Determining who is at fault in a T-bone car accident is especially challenging, as every crash circumstance is different and both parties could be partially responsible.

Based on the above list, car accident lawyers must determine whether negligence contributed to the accident and if so, which driver acted negligently.

Since every driver carries a duty of care to yield to other drivers to prevent an accident, this can be used to determine which driver acted in negligence, if negligence was an issue.

Many times, proving which driver was negligent or broke a traffic law requires a detailed investigation of the accident scene that relies highly on traffic camera footage, the testimony of witnesses who saw the accident and how it happened, and other evidence that can explain the turn of events.

Car accident law firms may find a driver to be fully at fault if they did not stop at a stop sign or went through a red light, yet only partially at fault if they had the right of way and another driver then did not stop and caused the accident.

Hire An Experienced Car Accident Lawyer For Help

T-bone car accidents are some of the more common, serious, and challenging accidents that happen on American roads.

Because many of these accidents leave injured victims with serious injuries and costly medical expenses, hiring a car accident lawyer who has experience with these types of crashes and understands what is involved in determining fault is critical.

Seek the services of an experienced car accident law firm when dealing with the aftermath of a side-impact crash for the best chance of getting a favorable injury settlement in these cases.