Rear-End Collision Car Accidents

Introduction Rear-End Car Accident Lawyers, Lawsuits and Claims

You see a car approaching in you in your rear-view mirror while you are stopped at a traffic light. Though you are stopped, the vehicle approaching you does not seem to be slowing down. You wonder to yourself if the car’s driver sees you and if he or she will be able to slow down in time. Your question is answered when the driver rear-ends you, sending your car flying forward and causing injury to yourself and the other occupants in your car. You have just been victimized in a rear-end traffic collision. If you are like many other victims of rear-end collisions, your challenges in moving forward after this event are only just beginning.

Why Do Rear-End Car Accidents Occur?

It is erroneous to believe that all rear-end collisions are due to an inattentive drive approaching from the rear of another car. While certainly rear-end collisions do occur – and frequently – because of an inattentive or distracted driver who does not see that a car has stopped in front of him or her. However, depending on the facts of each individual rear-end collisions, the following individuals may also be responsible for the rear-end collisions (either in whole or in part):

• The stopped motorist: The driver of the vehicle that is struck in the rear-end collision may be partly to blame for the crash and, hence, partly responsible for the crash as well. A driver who knows or should know that his or her car’s stop lights or turn signals are out or do not function properly but who decides to drive anyway may be committing a negligent act. Similarly, a driver who suddenly slams on his or her brakes without a reason to do so may also have committed a negligent act. Negligent acts committed by the injury victim may result in a reduction of compensation owed to the victim (or, in some states, may result in the victim’s claim for compensation being denied altogether.
• A passenger in the car responsible for the collision: While a driver is ultimately responsible for controlling his or her car in a safe and responsible manner, sometimes passengers in the car can make this task quite difficult. A passenger who distracts a driver (with conversation, with music, and/or with an electronic device, for example) and thereby causes the driver to collide with the car in front of him or her may be held responsible for his or her role in causing the rear-end collision.
• Engineers responsible for designing roadways: Engineers and other professionals responsible for designing roadways rea responsible for designing roads that are safe to use by motorists. A roadway in which a stop sign or traffic light is hidden around a sudden and steep curve, or a road in which traffic may be permitted to travel and a high speed but may suddenly be required to stop may make rear-end collisions more likely.

By deposing the drivers and passengers involved in the collision along with witnesses who observed the crash and comparing the information gained thereby with information and evidence retrieved at the scene, the rear-end collision injury victim’s team will attempt to reconstruct the accident and identify the individuals and/or entities who may have played a role in causing the crash. Doing so helps ensure each party who contributed to the crash shoulders an appropriate amount of responsibility for the harm resulting therefrom.

What To Do Following a Rear-End Collision

If you have been involved in a rear-end collision, you may have suffered a “whiplash”-type traumatic brain injury from the force of the car throwing your head violently forward and then backward. You may have also sustained injuries to your neck or spine, ribs, and internal organs. Therefore, your first concern following a rear-end collision should be to obtain medical treatment if necessary. Sometimes the signs and symptoms of an injury may not appear right away, so unless the rear-end collision occurred at an extremely low speed and there is no reasonably conceivable chance that you might have been seriously injured, it always pays to have a doctor or other qualified medical professional to examine you to ensure you did not suffer serious injury in the collision.

Call Stern Law, PLLC to Discuss Your Rear-end Collision Case at (844) 808-7529

After this, attempt to gain information about the driver and his or her insurance coverage as well as contact information for any witnesses who may be at the scene of the crash. Then contact Stern Law, PLLC right away for help pursuing compensation for the injuries you sustained in your rear-end collision. Whether your injuries are minor like cuts and lacerations or whether you will require constant medical care and attention because of a whiplash-induced traumatic brain injury, attorney Ken Stern is compassionate and dedicated to assisting injury victims like you. Call Stern Law, PLLC to discuss your rear-end collision case at (844) 808-7529.