Commonly referred to as T-bone accident because of the signature impact damage, side impact auto accidents unfold in a wide variety of traffic conditions.
The car accident frequently occurs at intersections when one of the traffic lights blinks the proceed with caution color of yellow. You can also experience a T-bone car crash in the parking lot of a grocery stores, as well as on a congested, four-lane highway during rush hour.
Assigning blame to a driver involved in a T-bone accident is often difficult to do. Did you perform a maneuver that put you in harm’s way, or does the legal liability for the crash fall on the driver that did the broadsiding? Trying to find fault when you were driving someone else’s car becomes much more of a legal burden.
Damages from a T-Bone Accident
Despite the potential carnage of a head on vehicle crash, side impact auto accidents are capable of producing much more property damage, as well as take an incredible toll on the body. The reason for this is a head on accident involves several feet of steel that form the bumper, engine, and hood.
T-bone crashes put only a door and a window between you and the oncoming vehicle. The result can be a totaled vehicle and/or a number of serious injuries that include hip displacement, one or more fractured limbs, and/or deep cuts caused by broken glass. Even minor side impact incidents can generate thousands of dollars in damage to a car.
Proving Liability When Driving Someone Else’s Car
At first glance, finding out which driver caused a T-bone accident appears to be crystal clear. We have always heard the driver of the car initiating impact should carry most of the legal and insurance burden. However, in some cases, the driver of the car that received the side impact might have passed through a red light or tried to complete a dangerous passing move on a crowded road. The liability question gets much more complex if you were driving someone else’s car.
When you think about driving someone else’s car, you probably think about a friend or a family member asking permission to drive the car for a few days until his or her vehicle is ready to pick up at the auto repair shop. Sometimes, the owner of a vehicle asks someone else to run an errand using his or her vehicle. The most common reason for driving someone else’s car is the driver is named on the auto insurance policy.
This happens frequently for families that ease children into driving a motor vehicle. If you endured a T-bone accident while driving someone else’s car and your name is on the owner’s auto insurance policy, then the owner of the car assumes full insurance liability.
How to Handle a T-Bone Accident
Following a T-bone accident, you first need to contact the nearest police station to have an officer investigate the scene, and then file a formal report with the proper insurance company. Your primary objective is to communicate what occurred with an attorney who can refer you to licensed medical professionals for diagnosis and treatment, as well as help you organize the medical documents you need to submit along with an insurance claim form.
A liability lawyer possesses the negotiation skills to get you the best possible insurance claim results.
Schedule a free initial consultation with an experienced liability attorney to boost your chances of receiving approval for an auto insurance claim.
