Side-impact crashes happen when one vehicle drives into the side of another vehicle. Depending on the circumstances the occupants of both vehicles might suffer injuries, but people seated on the side of the impact are most vulnerable. This is especially true for T-bone crashes, when one car collides with another’s door panel.
When you are injured in a side-impact/T-bone car accident in Waterbury, contact an attorney at D’Amico & Pettinicchi, LLC. Our car wreck lawyers have been advocating on behalf of accident victims for decades. They can help you get compensation for your pain, suffering, medical expenses, and lost income.
When you sue for compensation after an accident, you must prove another party was negligent. Negligence means failing to use reasonable caution to protect others from harm.
Drivers are negligent if they violate safety laws or take unnecessary risks with their vehicles. A vehicle owner could be negligent if they didn’t keep the car in good repair. A local government could be negligent if the road where a collision happened is poorly designed or not well-maintained, and these defects contribute to an accident. Vehicle manufacturers could be negligent if a mechanical defect leads to a wreck or safety components fail to prevent injuries.
Side-impact crashes usually happen when a driver fails to yield, goes through a light, or ignores a stop sign. Usually, at least one of the drivers is negligent, but other parties could have been negligent, too. Our team of seasoned Waterbury lawyers at D’Amico & Pettinicchi, LLC, will investigate the circumstances of your side-impact accident and pursue claims against all the parties whose negligence contributed to it.
The door panels have less reinforcement than other parts of a car or truck and usually suffer significant damage in a side-impact crash. Although most vehicles on the road today have side airbags, occupants can still suffer significant injuries in these wrecks.
Injuries can be severe even in a relatively minor side-impact crash. Debilitating soft tissue injuries to the neck and shoulders, broken ribs, injuries to the diaphragm, and disfiguring facial injuries are common.
When T-bone collisions happen at high speed, catastrophic injuries are more likely. Vehicle occupants might suffer an aortic rupture or other internal bleeding, which is often fatal. Traumatic amputations, moderate or severe traumatic brain injuries, and spinal cord injuries can result from these accidents.
It’s critical to call the police to the scene of an accident and to notify your insurance company immediately. Get medical attention right away, even if you think you’re uninjured. You also should contact an attorney as quickly as possible.
Sometimes, it’s clear that one person caused the crash, but often, several factors combined to cause your injuries. Your insurance company and the insurers for the other involved drivers might try to record a call with you soon after the wreck. They will be trying to determine who was at fault in the accident and insurers for other parties will assign as much blame as possible to you.
Connecticut General Statutes § 52-572h says that someone who is primarily responsible for an auto accident cannot collect compensation from other parties. When you hire a Waterbury attorney from D’Amico & Pettinicchi, LLC, soon after your T-bone crash, they can communicate with the insurance companies and protect your rights to compensation. They will use the police report, your medical records, and other critical evidence to help you prove your claim.
Fault in side-impact car accidents isn’t always clear cut, and if you’re not familiar with the legal system you might end up bearing more than your share of the blame. Even when the other driver was clearly at fault, you’re unlikely to get a fair settlement from the at-fault driver’s insurance company without legal assistance.
The attorneys at D’Amico & Pettinicchi, LLC have a long history of obtaining successful outcomes for victims of side-impact/T-bone car accidents in Waterbury. Schedule a free, in-person or remote consultation today to discuss your case.
