Truck Sideswipe Accidents
Sideswipe accidents are probably more common than you may think, and though they don’t always end up injuring those involved, depending on the circumstances, they can lead to serious crashes with severe injuries, especially if a large truck is involved.
Sideswipe Accident Causes
These types of accidents generally occur:
- When a vehicle tries to change lanes without looking
- When a driver overreacts when trying to avoid something on the road and swerves into another lane
- When a truck is trying to change lanes, and there is a vehicle in the blind spot
- When a driver loses control of their vehicle due to speed, weather, road conditions, etc.
But if you dig a little deeper into the causes of accidents, you will find that most of these accidents are caused by driver behaviors including –
- Distracted driving
- Tired driving
- Speeding
Some of these drivers may be reckless in their operation of a vehicle, including by weaving in and out of traffic, not signaling lane changes, and not checking for other vehicles before initiating a lane change.
Unfortunately, these types of accidents present two potential injury scenarios; first the side impact itself, and the possibility of the hit car losing control and hitting another vehicle, the guardrail, light poles and signs, trees, and even concrete barriers.
Compensation for Accident Injuries
Sideswipe accidents may not sound as deadly as a front-end collision, though they take the lives of thousands of people every year. In fact, according to the Insurance Information Institute (III), about 712,000 sides impact accidents occurred in 2014. Of these, about 612,000 caused property damage only, 100,000 caused injury, and 810 resulted in death.
Because the safety protections that are built into vehicles are typically for front- and rear-end collisions, a side glancing impact can cause injury, as can any resulting collisions. The injuries sustained in these types of accidents can range from bruises and lacerations to internal organ damage, traumatic brain injury, or even spinal cord injury.
These types of severe injury can lead to burdensome medical bills, missed work, and mounting expenses. If you were injured in a sideswipe crash because of another driver, you deserve to be compensated for your injuries and losses. But determining the fault in these types of accidents can be quite complex, and accident reconstruction is often necessary to learn how the accident occurred.
Our team utilizes specialized technologies to reconstruct the accident and determine all causal factors so you can recover compensation for –
- Current and future medical expenses
- Lost wages or unearned income
- Pain and suffering
- Long-term disability
- Permanent scarring and disfigurement
To learn more about getting compensation for truck sideswipe accidents, call us today.