Though collisions between two automobiles at even low speeds can pose significant risks of injury to all involved, an aspect of auto accidents that receives perhaps insufficient consideration is the angle and placement of the collision and how such factors can multiply the risk of injury to both vehicles’ occupants. This is particularly true of side impact, or so-called “T-Bone” collisions in which the front or rear of one car comes into contact with the side of another. Such collisions frequently occur in parking lots, intersections, between cars changing lanes on busy highways, and have been found more likely to result in severe damage and injury.
What Makes Side Impact Collisions So Dangerous?
Multiple factors contribute to the higher risk of injury in side impact collisions: the greater collapsibility of many automobiles’ side panels, the ineffectiveness of seat belts at resisting inertia, the absence of physical barriers such as engines and trunks that protect drivers and passengers in the event of front and rear collisions, and the differential trajectories of two moving cars possibly resulting in one car being driven into other nearby vehicles, objects, and pedestrians. Due to this risk, while occupants of the impacted side are certainly at the greatest risk, all passengers can be equally in jeopardy from multiple points of contact.
Is My Car Equipped to Protect Me from Such Collisions?
3.18 million automobiles are involved in side impact crashes each year, resulting in roughly 9400 deaths, or 30% of car accident fatalities in the United States. As a result of these grim statistics, auto manufacturers have tried to mitigate the risk by introducing new safety features such as side airbags that decrease the impact of drivers and passengers with the windows and interior of the car and reinforced side panels that absorb more of the force of other cars and objects. Research has proven these measures to be effective at reducing risk, but even with modern safety features well implemented, side impact collisions remain some of the riskiest on the road.
How Dover Can Help You
If you have been the victim of a side impact collision, getting you back to full physical and financial health means finding skilled, knowledgeable, and experienced legal representatives to assist you in acquiring the compensation that you are due. Your interests will be best represented by a firm that not only understands the law, but medical terminology, conditions, and procedures as well. You must assume that the other party in your case will acquire skilled representation and that you must do the same to ensure your well-being. That skill and dedication is what distinguishes Dover from other Atlanta law firms. To provide for your representation, call Dover today so that we can begin the process of securing your interests and getting you back on the road to recovery.