Side-Impacts And T-Bones In Philadelphia

Side-impacts, also known as T-bone crashes, can be some of the most serious car accidents that you can be involved in. When you get into a head-on or a rear-end collision, the entire engine compartment or trunk of your car stands between you and the vehicle that is hitting you. These parts of your car are made to crumple on impact, compacting to cushion the blow and protect you from serious injury. However, when you get hit from the side, there is only the thin door there to keep you safe. This allows the other vehicle to get more penetration into your car, which can result in severe injuries and can even trap you inside your own car.

Because they can lead to such severe injuries, side-impact or T-bone accidents can be debilitating and costly. Having a Philadelphia personal injury attorney from the law office of Gilman & Bedigian can make a huge difference in the outcome of your case.

Causes of Side-Impact or T-Bone Collisions

Figures by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) show that, despite only accounting for 21.2% of all traffic accidents that happened in 2014, side-impacts were the cause of 26.6% of accidents that resulted in someone getting hurt. While T-bone crashes accounted for a relatively low number of fatal accidents, the fact that so many people get hurt in side-impacts show how serious they can be.

Side-impact crashes happen most frequently at intersections. Drivers who try making it through a yellow light run the risk of causing a side-impact if someone on the cross street beats them into the intersection. Additionally, drivers who deliberately run red lights pose a T-bone risk because there is a much higher chance that someone else will already be in the intersection.

Not all intersections are where two roads meet, though. Parking lots, highway on-ramps and driveways are just some of the other types of intersections. These might not have stop lights or stop lights, but can still be places where cars T-bone each other. Someone pulling out of a driveway or a parking spot who does not look carefully enough can create a side-impact collision, just like a distracted driver who should have seen someone merging, but did not.

One important aspect of a side-impact collision is that it can be difficult to tell who was at fault. Just because one car has damage on its side while the other has damage to its front does not necessarily mean that the car that got T-boned had the right of way. Merging recklessly can make it impossible for the other driver to avoid the collision.

Injuries from Side-Impact or T-Bone Crashes

With so many side-impact car accidents resulting in serious injuries over the years, cars and other vehicles have started improving the safety devices to help protect drivers in these kinds of accidents. However, despite safety features like side airbags and stronger door structures, injuries from T-bone crashes remain high. Apparently, there is only so much that can be done.

Side-impact collisions are dangerous for several reasons. The impact and the close proximity of vehicle occupants to the other car make flying glass and bent steel perilous. These can cause broken bones and serious lacerations that can be permanently disfiguring and even life-threatening, especially if the collision traps you inside your car.

However, side-impact accidents can also create latent internal injuries, as well. The jolt from the collision – even a low-speed T-bone accident in a parking lot – is enough to jerk you to the side. This strange movement has the potential to significantly impact your back and neck muscles and tendons, resulting in whiplash injuries. These ailments are deceptively painful and can even be debilitating over the long-term.

Philadelphia Side-Impact and T-Bone Accident Attorneys

Because side-impacts and T-bone crashes can lead to such serious injuries, it becomes all the more important to have a personal injury attorney at your side as early in the process as possible. By having a lawyer from the Philadelphia law office of Gilman & Bedigian, you can rest assured that someone will be fighting for your rights and interests both in and out of court to make sure you get the compensation you need. This includes convincing your insurance company that your injuries are legitimate and as expensive as they really are.

If you or someone you love has been hurt in a side-impact collision in or near Philadelphia, contact the attorneys at the Gilman & Bedigian law office online or at (800) 529-6162.