Side Impact Collisions

Indianapolis Personal Injury Attorneys

The Indianapolis personal injury attorneys of Parr Richey Frandsen Patterson Kruse LLP are devoted to assisting victims injured in side-impact accidents. With over 75 years of combined experience, our attorneys have established a reputation for excellence as leaders in car accident law. Our Indianapolis and Lebanon offices provide unparalleled service and advocacy to Indiana residents.

Side-Impact Collisions

In side-impact crashes, also known as “T-bones,” the front end of one vehicle hits the side of another. The impact can cause the other vehicle to spin, resulting in a chain reaction of other accidents. Side-impact accidents can involve:

• Blind spots
• Intoxication
• Road racing
• Lane changes
• Median breach
• Left-hand turns
• Traffic violations
• Construction areas
• Traffic intersections
• Sharp turns on incline
• Trucks, tractor-trailers
• Overtaking and passing

These accidents often occur in busy intersections or four-way stops, where one or two traveling vehicles collide. When the force of impact hits the less-protected side of a vehicle, drivers and passengers are affected. Even at low speeds, side-impact accidents can be fatal.

Side-Impact Injuries

A vehicle approaching from the side can crush the door of another car. In accidents involving pedestrians, bicycles, and motorcycles, the oncoming steel hits the human frame. The affected motorist and passengers may suffer a variety of injuries, including:

• Neck injury
• Broken bones
• Punctured lung
• Internal bleeding
• Shattered clavicle
• Organ dysfunction
• Permanent scarring
• Spinal cord damage
• Lost or severed limb
• Cognitive impairment
• Traumatic brain injury
• Coma, amnesia, paralysis

While newer vehicles are equipped with side airbags and reinforced doors, they do not guarantee safety. Depending on the impact, deployed airbags and stronger doors are still likely to harm drivers and passengers. The risk is especially great when the passenger is an infant or child.

Negligent Causes of Side-Impact Collisions

In most multiple-vehicle accidents, at least one driver is at fault. Fault is defined as negligence, or the breach of a legal duty owed to another to exercise reasonable care. Unintentional or reckless conduct causing side-impact crashes may involve:

• Speeding
• Intoxication
• Inexperience
• Driver fatigue
• Four-way stop
• Grade crest, turn
• Talking or texting
• Prohibited U-turns
• Distracted operation
• Crossing intersection
• Unlawful lane passing
• Commercial cargo spills
• Cruise control downgrade
• Traffic safety, control zone
• Failure to yield right-of-way

Indiana personal injury law holds negligent drivers liable for the damage they cause. Most side-impact accidents clearly demonstrate a violation of the legal duty to exercise due care. As such, the parties at fault are liable to injured victims and surviving family members in damages.

Product and Premises Liability

Product liability provides recourse to injured drivers whose harm was caused by a defective product. Flawed doors, failed brakes, and insufficient crash control are examples of defective goods. Vehicle manufacturers and certain vendors are strictly liable to injured consumers, meaning that victims need not prove negligence if a product defect is shown to have caused injury.

Like drivers and manufacturers, property owners also have a duty to protect invitees under the principles of premises liability. Broken lights, unsigned roads, and unfixed intersections are all dangerous conditions on property. Parties that fail to repair the dangerous condition are liable for injuries. Liable owners and contractors may include private individuals, state or local agencies, and corporate entities.

Recover Side-Impact Collision Damages

If you were injured in a side-impact collision, you may be entitled to compensation for property loss, medical costs, missed work, pain, suffering, and wrongful death. Whether filing a personal injury or insurance claim, the Indiana car accident lawyers at Parr Richey Frandsen Patterson Kruse LLP can help. Concentrating our practice on personal injury law for the past 40 years, we are dedicated to finding all negligent parties to maximize the compensation you deserve.

For a free case evaluation, please call 888-532-7766 or contact us online.