Sideswipe collision victims often endure physical injuries and financial hardships while struggling to understand their legal rights. If you've suffered an injury in a sideswipe crash, you deserve fair compensation for your injury-related losses.
As an injured victim, you must demonstrate why the negligent actions of the at-fault party contributed to your losses. Sideswipe collisions frequently happen during lane changes, merging, or when drivers drift out of their lanes, creating scenarios where drivers may dispute responsibility.
Insurance companies often exploit the ambiguous nature of these collisions to minimize settlements or deny claims altogether. You should, therefore, work with a legal professional to protect your rights after a sideswipe collision.
An experienced car accident attorney can investigate the circumstances surrounding your sideswipe collision, gather evidence, and fight for the maximum compensation you deserve while you focus on recovery.
Key Takeaways
- Sideswipe collisions can cause severe physical injuries, emotional trauma, and substantial financial losses.
- Injury severity, insurance coverage, and collision speed influence settlement values.
- Sources of evidence like traffic camera footage, professional testimony, and images of the crash scene can prove fault and damages.
- Multiple parties may share liability, including negligent drivers, road authorities, or manufacturers.
- Compensation can cover economic, non-economic, and punitive damages
- Insurance companies may dispute fault or reduce payouts in sideswipe claims.
- Call a car accident lawyer to protect rights, maximize compensation, and ensure peace of mind.
Sideswipe Collisions and Damages
While sideswipe collisions may not be the most damaging accidents, they can cause surprisingly severe injuries and substantial financial losses. Here’s the potential impact of side-impact injuries:
Potential Injuries from Sideswipe Collisions
Sideswipe accidents commonly result in whiplash and other neck injuries as victims' heads snap sideways during impact. The sudden lateral force can cause spinal damage, including herniated discs and nerve compression. Head and brain injuries frequently occur when occupants strike side windows or door frames during the collision.
Upper body injuries are prevalent, including shoulder dislocations, arm fractures, and rib injuries from seatbelt restraint during sideways motion. Hip and leg injuries can result from door intrusion or the vehicle's sideways momentum.
Sideswipe accidents also pose risks for cuts and lacerations from broken glass and twisted metal.
Severity of Injuries
The severity of sideswipe collision injuries varies based on speed, vehicle size, and the point of impact. High-speed sideswipe accidents can cause catastrophic injuries comparable to those from other serious collision types.
Accidents involving large trucks or SUVs sideswiping smaller vehicles often result in severe trauma due to the significant size and weight disparities.
Side-impact collisions provide less protection than frontal crashes since vehicles have fewer safety features along their sides. This reduced protection can lead to more severe injuries even at moderate speeds, particularly for occupants on the impact side of the vehicle.
Settlement Values for Sideswipe Collisions
Settlement values for sideswipe accidents range widely depending on injury severity and long-term consequences. Minor cuts and laceration injuries may settle for thousands of dollars, while serious injuries requiring surgery or causing permanent disability can result in settlements reaching hundreds of thousands of dollars.
Factors influencing settlement amounts include medical expenses, lost earnings, pain and suffering, and future care needs. Sideswipe accidents involving commercial vehicles or multiple parties often yield higher settlements due to increased insurance coverage and shared liability scenarios.
Who’s at Fault in a Sideswipe Accident
Determining fault in sideswipe accidents requires careful analysis of the circumstances leading to the collision. These incidents often involve complex liability questions that depend on traffic laws, driver actions, and road conditions.
You should establish fault in a sideswipe accident to protect your legal right to compensation. Here is a breakdown of the parties who may be at fault in a sideswipe crash:
- Negligent Drivers: The most common cause of sideswipe collisions is driver negligence. These actions can include distracted driving, such as texting or talking on the phone, changing lanes without signalling, or drifting out of their lane. A driver who fails to maintain vehicle control and causes a sideswipe accident may be held responsible for the damages.
- Road Conditions: Poor road conditions can also cause a sideswipe accident. Factors such as uneven lanes, construction zones, debris on the road, or inadequate signage can lead to a driver inadvertently sideswiping another vehicle. Liability may extend to the entity responsible for the road, such as the government or a private contractor.
- Mechanical Failures: Sometimes, mechanical failures in a vehicle, such as a sudden steering malfunction, brake failure, or tire blowout, can result in a sideswipe collision. In these instances, the vehicle manufacturer or maintenance provider may be liable for the accident if the mechanical issue directly contributed to the crash.
- Vehicles in Adjacent Lanes: In some cases, the car in the adjacent lane may share the fault for a sideswipe collision. If the driver in the other lane fails to yield, merges abruptly, or changes lanes recklessly, they can contribute to the accident.
Sideswipe Accident Settlement
You can file a car accident claim or lawsuit to pursue compensation for your injury-related losses. Some of the damages you can receive in a car accident lawsuit include:
Medical Expenses
Medical expenses represent the most straightforward category of damages in sideswipe accident claims. These damages include all costs related to treating injuries caused by the collision, from emergency room visits and ambulance transportation to ongoing rehabilitation and physical therapy.
Hospital stays, diagnostic tests like X-rays and MRIs, prescription medications, and specialized treatments all qualify for compensation.
Future medical expenses are also part of the settlement when injuries require long-term care, follow-up surgeries, or permanent medical management. A car accident lawyer can use professional medical testimony to establish the projected costs of future treatment.
Lost Income
Sideswipe accidents frequently prevent victims from working while they recover from injuries. Lost earnings compensation covers the income you've missed due to medical appointments, hospital stays, and recovery time.
Lost income includes base salary, hourly earnings, overtime, bonuses, commissions, and other employment benefits you may have earned.
Injured self-employed victims calculate lost income by examining historical earnings patterns and projected future income. When injuries result in reduced earning capacity, you may also recover damages for the loss of productivity.
Out-of-Pocket Expenses
Sideswipe accidents generate numerous out-of-pocket expenses that deserve compensation. These include transportation costs for medical appointments, over-the-counter medications, medical equipment rentals, and modifications to your home or vehicle due to permanent disability.
You can also pursue compensation for childcare costs incurred while attending medical appointments or recovering from injuries, housekeeping services needed due to physical limitations, and other assistance required during recovery.
A car accident lawyer can strengthen your claim for out-of-pocket expenses using:
- Bank statements
- Profit and loss statements
- Invoices
- Medical records
Pain and Suffering
Pain and suffering damages compensate for the discomfort, trauma, pain, and inconvenience caused by your injuries. These damages cover both the immediate pain experienced during and after the accident and the ongoing discomfort during recovery.
For example, you can pursue compensation for chronic pain resulting from the collision because of its impact on your quality of life.
A car accident lawyer can calculate pain and suffering damages by considering injury severity, treatment duration, and how pain affects daily activities. More severe injuries that cause significant ongoing pain typically receive a higher settlement value.
Loss of Companionship
When sideswipe accidents result in serious injuries affecting your ability to maintain normal relationships with family members, you may recover damages for loss of companionship. These damages address how injuries impact intimate relationships with spouses and the parent-child relationship dynamic.
Loss of consortium claims recognize that serious injuries affect the family members who lose companionship, affection, and support of the injured victim.
A car accident lawyer can use the following sources of evidence to prove loss of companionship damages:
- Testimony from family members
- Reports from a mental health professional
- Photographs or videos showing social activities with injured victims
- Written correspondence or messages between partners
- Journals or personal diaries documenting emotional impact
Loss of Enjoyment of Life
You can pursue loss of enjoyment of life damages if an injury prevents you from participating in activities you previously enjoyed. Whether you can no longer play sports, pursue hobbies, travel, or engage in recreational activities, these limitations represent real losses.
These damages address how injuries diminish your overall life satisfaction and ability to pursue fulfilling activities. The more injuries impact your lifestyle and interests, the higher the loss or enjoyment of life damages.
Emotional Distress
Sideswipe accidents often cause psychological trauma extending beyond physical injuries. Anxiety about driving, depression related to life changes, and post-traumatic stress from the collision experience all qualify as emotional distress damages.
Compensation for emotional distress allows injured victims to pay for professional counselling and other programs to enhance their mental health. Severe emotional distress that impacts daily functioning and relationships deserves substantial compensation.
Permanent Disability and Disfigurement
When sideswipe accidents cause permanent disabilities or visible scarring, victims deserve compensation reflecting these life-altering consequences. Permanent disabilities that affect mobility, cognitive function, or sensory abilities warrant a higher compensation based on how they impact future earning capacity and quality of life.
Disfigurement compensation addresses the physical appearance changes, their psychological impact, and their effect on self-esteem and social interactions.
Punitive Damages
In cases involving extremely reckless behavior like drunk driving, excessive speeding, or intentional misconduct, the court may award you punitive damages. As the name suggests, punitive damages punish the defendant and deter similar behavior.
These damages exceed compensation for actual losses and require proving the at-fault party's conduct was particularly egregious or malicious.
Why Get an Attorney After a Car Accident
You should speak with a car accident attorney after a sideswipe accident for legal guidance. They understand the legal timelines, including statutes of limitations that can diminish your right to compensation.
Insurance companies employ experienced adjusters trained to minimize payouts, but a car accident attorney can level the playing field during negotiations. They understand insurance tactics and know how to counter lowball offers.
A car accident lawyer will take your case to court if negotiations stall. They handle all litigation procedures, gather expert witnesses, and present compelling arguments to juries.
Most importantly, a car accident lawyer will advise you throughout the claim process so that you can make appropriate decisions that protect your legal right to compensation.
Secure a Fair Settlement After a Sideswipe Collision
You’re likely to endure financial strain after sustaining an injury in a sideswipe collision. For example, a fractured bone can keep you from work for several months, leading to lost income and hefty medical expenses.
Although you may be entitled to compensation for these losses, the negligent party's insurer can frustrate your compensation claim. A car accident lawyer understands the impact of injuries and is ready to negotiate with insurers or litigate the claim to maximize your settlement value.
Contact a car accident attorney to protect your legal right to compensation.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I Have to Sue the At-Fault Driver Who Caused My Sideswipe Accident?
You don't have to sue the at-fault driver immediately. Most sideswipe accident cases resolve through insurance negotiations without filing lawsuits.
However, you may need to sue if the insurance company refuses a fair settlement, denies your claim, or shifts blame to you. An experienced car accident attorney can negotiate with insurers and advise when litigation becomes necessary.
Who Is at Fault in a Sideswipe Accident?
The fault in sideswipe accidents depends on specific circumstances. The driver who changed lanes unsafely, merged improperly, or drifted from their lane is typically at fault.
However, both drivers may share responsibility in some cases. Traffic signals, road markings, witness statements, and vehicle damage patterns help determine liability. The findings in police crash reports can also complement other sources of information when establishing fault.
If the Other Driver Flees the Scene, What Can I Do?
If the other driver flees the scene, call the police immediately to report the hit-and-run crash. You should also consult with a car accident lawyer. They can investigate, work with law enforcement, explore insurance options like uninsured motorist coverage, or file a lawsuit for your injury-related losses.