Call us!  (706) 995-7547

Call us!  (706) 995-7547

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When you are hurt in an accident, it’s important to understand that your damages are not paid out to you automatically. You must collect evidence, accurately measure your damages, and then file a claim or lawsuit.

This can be a very difficult process to undertake, especially when you are trying to recover from your injuries.

With an attorney on your side, you can focus on recovering. Your lawyer will handle all the work necessary to recover the fullest possible compensation for your injuries and their associated costs.

Read on for more about head-on collisions, then call (706) 995-7547 to learn how an Athens head on collision lawyer can help on your case.

What makes head-on collisions so deadly?

When vehicles are traveling at high speeds and experience a head-on collision, all of their opposite momentum collides. This results in a huge amount of force being driven into the vehicle and the occupants within.

The force associated can also lead to injuries from seatbelts and even flying objects inside the cabin of your vehicle.

Traumatic brain injuries are also prevalent in head-on collisions. A traumatic brain injury, or TBI, happens when you experience a bump, blow, or penetrating wound to your head. A TBI can also happen when your brain strikes the inside of your skull as your vehicle comes to a sudden stop, something commonly referred to as whiplash.

Brain injuries are very serious and can permanently change how you live and earn income to support your family. When you have been in an accident, experienced an injury, and someone or something else was at fault, you are entitled to compensation.

Common Causes of Head-On Collisions

The cause of a head-on collision can be determined through legal instruments like depositions, interrogatories, and requests for production. Your Athens head-on collision lawyer will collect the evidence you need and draft the claim or case to collect the full amount of damages you are entitled to.

Below, we discuss some of the most common causes of head-on collisions.

Distracted Driving

In the United States, there are eight deaths each day due to distracted driving. Distracted driving amounts to any activity that takes your attention away from driving, including talking or texting, using the radio or in-dash display, eating, or even talking to a passenger.

There are three types of distraction that can cause accidents:

  • Visual
  • Manual
  • Cognitive

When a driver is engaging in texting and driving, they are distracted in all three forms. Visually, the texting driver’s eyes are on their phone. Manually, their hands are holding their device. Cognitively, their mind is occupied with what they are reading or writing.

If a person reads a single text at fifty-five miles per hour, it is the same as taking their eyes off the road for the length of an entire football field. This can and does cause head-on collisions that can lead to serious injuries.

Drunk Driving

All drunk driving accidents are preventable, and all drunk drivers will be liable for the damages they cause in a drunk driving accident.

Each day in the United States, 28 people die in crashes associated with drunk driving. That’s one person every 52 minutes. Drunk driving is illegal in every state and is a significant problem nationally, with 10,142 people dying in drunk driving accidents in 2019 alone.

Alcohol or drug impairment impacts your ability to safely operate a motor vehicle. Some people might not be impaired but have reached the legal blood alcohol limit, while other people might be impaired by one drink.

If you have been hit by a drunk driver, let your Athens head-on collision lawyer help you determine what damages you are entitled to. they will collect the evidence and expert opinions you need to accurately measure the costs of your injuries, now and in the future.

Severe Weather

If you’ve ever been driving along on the road when conditions are icy, you know how dangerous and scary it is.

While head-on collisions are common in slick conditions when cars are unable to stop, and might make unexpected turns, pedestrian accidents are also common in severe weather. When a driver was not being responsible and they hit you, causing injury, you are entitled to compensation for the costs associated with your injuries.

Severe weather is not an excuse for drivers to not drive safely and responsibly. Your Athens head-on collision lawyer will collect the evidence necessary to determine if the other driver was being responsible.

Speeding

Speeding makes the likelihood of serious injury or death in motor vehicle collisions much higher. This behavior is especially concerning because:

  • In 2019 alone, speeding resulted in the death of 9,478 people in the United States.
  • Speeding is a contributing factor in 26% of all traffic fatalities.
  • When there is severe weather or poor road conditions, speeding negatively impacts safety.
  • Speeding not only kills other drivers and pedestrians but also many law enforcement officers each year.

When a driver is speeding it is more likely that they will lose control of their vehicle. The effectiveness of occupant safety equipment like seatbelts and airbags is decreased.

When it comes time to stop, a greater distance is necessary for the speeding driver to come to a halt. That means the associated force and related injuries are more serious.

Determining Fault in a Head-On Collision

If you have been hit by another driver in a head-on collision or other accident, determining whether or not they were at fault is essential to your claim.

Your damages should include not only short-term costs associated with your injury like medical bills and lost wages, but also long-term costs. These may include medication or treatment needs, rehabilitation, as well as any impact your injuries have upon your ability to enjoy life and support your family.

Below, we will consider the factors that determine whether or not you will have a rightful claim for your damages. Each of these four factors must be in place for you to be entitled to damages.

For more information, your Athens head-on collision lawyer will provide a risk-free consultation. They will determine if you have a case or claim under your local rules and laws.

1. Duty of Care

You must be owed some duty of care by the party that injured you. A duty of care in terms of operating a motor vehicle means following the rules of the road.

The rules of the road demand that the driver is safe and responsible, meaning they are not distracted, they are not drowsy, they are not impaired by drugs or alcohol, and they are obeying traffic laws. That includes speed limits, traffic lights and signs, and other local laws.

2. Breach

The duty that you are owed must have been breached to be entitled to compensation for your damages. A breach happens when the duty or obligation is gone against or broken.

For example, if the driver coming your way down the two-way street crosses the double yellow line into your lane, they have breached their duty to you. If a head-on collision were to happen, this breach must have been the cause of the accident.

3. Causation

It is essential that the breach of duty caused an accident that resulted in injury. This means that the breach itself is the cause of the injury, which brings into play legal theories that your Athens head-on collision lawyer will put to work in your favor.

For example, a driver coming your way down the two-way street crosses into the opposite lane. They drive straight into your car without giving you a reasonable chance to avoid the collision. They breached their duty to stay in their lane, causing an accident that injured you.

4. Damages

Damages include all the costs associated with the accident, both short-term costs and long-term expenses. Short-term medical costs include emergency room bills. To measure long-term medical costs like treatment, medication, rehabilitation, follow-up opinions from medical experts may be necessary.

To measure the damages you are entitled to associated with short-term occupational losses like lost wages, sick days, or vacation time, your claim may need to be considered by an occupational expert.

If your injuries impact your ability to work long-term, you are entitled to compensation for any change in your earnings ability from the time of your injury through your working life.

When your damages are not accurately measured, it can take resources away from your household that should have been recovered in your claim or case.

An experienced Athens head-on collision attorney can advise you on what your best options are and schedule all the follow-up appointments you need to accurately calculate the full damages associated with your injuries.

Where do most head-on collisions occur?

The majority of head-on collisions occur on either rural or two-lane roads. When motor vehicles are operating on two-vehicle roads, they have less room to move, and the likelihood of a head-on collision is much higher due to the inability to avoid them.

Head-on collisions also happen often on rural roads. When you are traveling down a country road, the yellow lines in the middle are more likely to be less visible. Plus, large trucks take up more space on these already-narrow roads.

Many serious accidents happen on two-lane roads between passenger vehicles like cars or minivans and large trucks or buses. Large truck and bus accidents are especially threatening to the drivers and occupants of traditional motor vehicles.

What’s the average settlement for a head-on collision?

The amount you may be entitled to will depend on state laws, case precedents, the unique facts and circumstances of your accident, and the way that the accident has impacted your health and ability to work.

Knowing what you are entitled to for your head-on collision requires expert opinions from medical and occupational experts to measure the long-term impact of the symptoms of your injuries on your health and ability to work.

If your symptoms will last for a long time, and if they impact your ability to return to work or a job that pays as well as before, you are entitled to compensation.

Calculating the amount of damages your head-on collision entitles you to can be difficult and requires an understanding of similar case outcomes, local law, and more. Your Athens car accident attorney will review your case, and if they take it, help you collect the full amount you are entitled to.

Hurt in a Head-On Crash? Call Us.

Reach out to us today for a risk-free, no-cost case consultation from an Athens head-on accident attorney.

We will review the facts of your case, and if it fits with our firm, you won’t pay anything unless we win in your case. This is called a contingency fee arrangement, and you pay nothing up-front. We are only paid out of a portion of the settlement or award that we’ll agree upon before getting started.

Call (706) 995-7547 today to schedule your consultation.

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500 North Milledge Ave, Suite 210 Athens, GA 30601