Most Common Types of Car Accidents | Shapiro, Washburn & Sharp

Every year, about 39 million people require medical attention for a variety of personal injuries. Shapiro, Washburn & Sharp have been advocating for injured clients for more than 35 years. At our firm, we only practice personal injury law and we only represent the victims, never the at-fault parties. Although there are many types of accidents that can result in a personal injury claim, the most common are car accidents.

There are about 6 million car accidents that happen each year, resulting in about 3 million car accident injury victims. Two million of those victims end up with permanent injuries. Car accidents can involve a single vehicle, multiple vehicles, crashes with trucks, crashes with motorcycles, and against pedestrians and cyclists. The following are the types of accidents that can leave victims injured and seeking the legal assistance of a Virginia car accident attorney.

  • Head-on crashes: Head-on collisions happen when a driver tries passing another vehicle on a two-lane road or a driver goes the wrong way down a one-way street or ramp. These are not the most common types of car accidents, but they are tragically the deadliest because of the speed both vehicles are usually traveling at when impact occurs.
  • Pedestrian accidents: Pedestrian accidents fall under car accident category because injured victims would pursue damages against the at-fault driver’s insurance company. Many pedestrian accidents are caused by distracted drivers who are not paying attention to the road and fail to see the pedestrian crossing. This can occur even when pedestrians are following all the traffic laws, and only crossing at traffic lights and crosswalks.
  • Rear-end collisions: The majority of rear-end crashes occur at lower speeds, usually because the driver in the rear fails to slow down or stop in time. However, even at lower speeds, victims can still suffer serious injury, with whiplash being one of the most common. When the crash occurs at higher speeds, like a vehicle traveling on a highway that fails to stop in time because of a traffic jam, the injuries sustained by victims can be quite severe.
  • Side-impact crashes: Side-impact crashes most often occur on highways because of the multiple lanes of vehicles going in the same direction. They are often caused by a driver attempting to merge onto the highway or switch into another lane, but failing to check to make sure there are no vehicles in the way.
  • T-bone crashes: T-bone crashes most often occur at intersections, usually because a driver runs a red light or stop sign or fails to yield the right of way. The result is the nose of that vehicle slamming into the other vehicle’s side, making the shape of the “T.” The occupants sitting on the side of the vehicle that is hit are often severely injured because of the lack of a barrier between them and the other vehicle.

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Car crash victims often suffer from injuries that require a long-term recovery process. This often involves high medical expenses, as well as lost wages from work, and pain and suffering. And it is not uncommon for victims to suffer life-long damage from these injuries.

Insurance companies will often try to pressure car crash victims to settle their claims quickly and for much less than what the victim deserves. That is why it is critical to contact a skilled Virginia car accident attorney immediately following a collision for advice and direction. Call Shapiro, Washburn & Sharp today to schedule a free and confidential consultation. For more information, download our free guide to car crash injuries in Virginia.

 

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