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Austin’s Side-Impact Collisions Lawyer

About 25 percent of traffic fatalities in the United States occur in side-impact crashes. Even at relatively low speeds, these crashes can cause serious injuries for passengers and drivers.

In a forward crash, or a rear-end crash, a vehicle’s hood or trunk absorbs some of the energy of the impact. But in a T-bone crash, the doors and side airbags are the only barriers between vehicle occupants and the oncoming car.

Austin Wrong-way AccidentAccident Lawyer

If you’ve suffered an injury in a side-impact crash caused by another driver, you may be entitled to compensation for your pain and suffering.

Contact the Evans/Reilley Law Firm to request your free, no-obligation case consultation.

Side-Impact Crash Facts

Regular passenger cars have beams inside doors to help protect occupants in side-impact crashes. But when a large vehicle – such as an SUV – hits a smaller car, the bumper may override those protective beams and seriously injure occupants.

Seat belts save lives, but in a side-impact crash, they can also cause severe injuries. The lateral force of the crash causes bodies of vehicle occupants to move sideways, and injuries usually occur along points of impact with the seatbelt. In a side-impact crash, abdominal, spinal, and pelvic injuries are common, as is internal organ damage. If you or a loved one has experienced a spinal injury in a side-impact accident, it’s essential to seek the guidance of a spinal injury lawyer in Austin, TX to understand your legal options and potential compensation.

Elderly people, especially those who have low bone density, are likely to suffer severe injuries in side-impact crashes. Children are also at risk of serious injuries in side-impact crashes.

Injuries to Children

When parents place children in the back seat of the car, they usually place them opposite the driver’s side, so they can see their child more easily and reach them if necessary. Many T-bone crashes occur on that side of the vehicle, as a driver is turning left and is struck by an oncoming car. A child passenger in the back seat may be seriously injured or killed in a side-impact crash, because of their small size.

If your child has been seriously injured in a side-impact crash, you need a Austin personal injury attorney on your side. Severe car accident injuries may cause physical and cognitive disabilities in children and necessitate ongoing therapy and rehabilitation. In such distressing times, an Austin car accident lawyer can provide the expertise and support needed to navigate the complex legal landscape. Get the best possible outcome for your child by contacting the Evans/Reilley Law Firm today.

Dangerous Drivers

Most accidents are not “accidents” at all – they are fully preventable collisions that occur because drivers make mistakes or take unnecessary risks.

Every driver has witnessed another driver running a red light or blowing through a stop sign. That’s a common sign of aggressive driving, which is known to increase the risk of crashes in general. Distraction is also a factor in many side-impact crashes – a driver who’s texting or simply not paying attention may fail to notice a stop sign or a red light. When distraction is combined with inexperience, the risk of a crash is much higher.

Researchers at the University of Iowa studied 1,700 crashes involving drivers age 16-19 and found distraction was a factor in 60 percent of those crashes. One might assume that those teen drivers were texting or interacting with their phones when they crashed, but the primary mode of distraction was interacting with passengers.

Inattention is also a factor in side-impact crashes involving drivers who enter the path of another car. For example, a driver who’s talking on a cellphone may look both ways before pulling onto a busy street, but distraction interferes with one’s ability to process information. A distracted driver may miscalculate the speed of an oncoming vehicle.

Getting a Fair Settlement

Insurance companies may try to offer personal injury victims an inadequate settlement, which is why car accident victims need a personal injury attorney. Lost wages, rehabilitation, hospitalization, and ongoing medical care can be an extreme financial burden for families, so personal injury attorneys look for every possible source of compensation for their clients.

Austin Accident Lawyer

Experienced attorneys know how to get the best compensation for their clients, and they also understand that settlements need to account for injury victims’ long-term expenses. The Evans/Reilley Law Firm has extensive experience representing families in Austin, and throughout Texas, in personal injury cases. If you need help for your crash-related injuries, or if a crash claimed the life of your immediate family member, don’t wait to ask for help. Contact us today to request your free, no-obligation case consultation.

Attorney Chip Evans

Austin Attorney Chip EvansChip Evans is a partner at Evans & Herlihy. Chip brings to the firm more than 20 years of experience as a trial lawyer representing Plaintiffs. It is the desire to help individuals, not corporations, that attracts Chip to this side of the docket. [ Attorney Bio ]

 
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