What a Car Accident Attorney Looks at After a Rear-End or T-Bone Crash

Rear-End and T-Bone Collisions: How Fault Is Decided

Rear-end and T-bone collisions come up again and again in injury claims. The label describes how the vehicles met, but it does not settle who was at fault. A car accident attorney looking at either type of crash will usually start with the sequence of events, from the speed of each car to the signals that controlled the intersection.

Why rear-end crashes happen

Many state traffic laws bar drivers from following another vehicle more closely than is reasonable and prudent, taking into account the speed of traffic and the condition of the road. Distraction is a frequent factor. NHTSA notes that sending or reading a text takes a driver's eyes off the road for 5 seconds, which at 55 mph is like driving the length of a football field with eyes closed. A car accident attorney will sometimes request the other driver's phone records if distraction is suspected.

The trailing driver is often found at fault in a rear-end crash, yet that result is not automatic. A car that cuts in and brakes suddenly, brake lights that fail or a vehicle backing up can shift some or all of the fault. In a chain-reaction crash, every impact is its own event, and a middle car pushed into the car ahead may not be at fault for that second impact.

Whiplash and soft tissue injuries

Rear-end impacts are often associated with whiplash, a neck injury caused by the head snapping back and forth. Symptoms such as neck pain and headaches may not appear until hours after the crash, which is one reason prompt medical care matters. Insurers sometimes dispute injury claims from low-speed rear-end crashes, pointing to light vehicle damage. Photos of both cars and the medical records help respond to that argument, together with imaging such as an MRI when a doctor orders it.

What causes T-bone crashes

In a T-bone crash, the front of one vehicle strikes the side of another, usually at an intersection. Common causes include running a red light or a stop sign and failing to yield on a left turn. A car's sides have less space to absorb crash forces than its front or rear, and the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) evaluates side protection in its own side-impact crash test. People seated on the struck side can suffer serious injuries such as traumatic brain injury or pelvic fractures.

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Disputes in these crashes often come down to who had the right of way. Evidence can include signal timing records, intersection camera video, nearby business surveillance footage, dashcam video and witness statements, as well as the event data recorder (EDR) in each car, which may hold speed and braking data from the seconds before the crash. A car accident lawyer will usually try to collect video quickly, since many systems overwrite footage within days or weeks.

Comparative negligence in these crashes

Fault is often shared. Most states apply some form of comparative negligence, which lowers a recovery by the injured person's share of fault. Under modified comparative negligence, a person found at least 50 or 51 percent at fault, depending on the state, may recover nothing, while pure comparative negligence allows a reduced recovery at any percentage of fault. A small number of jurisdictions still follow contributory negligence, which can bar recovery for even slight fault. A car accident attorney can explain which rule applies where the crash happened.

Deadlines and general information

Every state sets its own statute of limitations for injury claims, and claims involving a government vehicle or agency can require written notice much sooner. This is general information and not legal advice, and it cannot predict the outcome of any claim.