Staten Island T-bone Accident Lawyer

Were You Hurt in a T-bone Crash? Call Our Staten Island T-Bone Accident Lawyer for Help

One of the most common types of motor vehicle accidents is a side impact. Also known as a T-bone accident, side impacts account for almost 25% of all fatal motor vehicle accidents and almost 30% of all fatal multiple-vehicle crashes. In addition to that, other statistics indicate that side impacts accounted for 45% of all serious injury cases when the side was the initial point of impact, and 48% of all serious injury crashes when the side was a second point of impact. Our Staten Island T-bone accident lawyer knows that the majority of these serious injury cases will include traumatic brain injuries, spinal cord injuries, broken bones, and other types of catastrophic harm. Unfortunately, far too many defense lawyers and insurance adjusters will refuse to fairly compensate victims and their families for their medical bills, lost wages, property damage, and conscious pain and suffering.

That’s why, here at The O’Connor Law Firm, our personal injury law firm offers victims and their families free case consultations and evaluations to learn what their rights to compensation may be under New York law. There is no obligation to sign up during this consultation and, should you choose our law firm and we accept your case, we pay the litigation expenses and don’t seek reimbursement or payment for our legal services until after a recovery is made in your favor. To learn more about your rights in a serious or catastrophic side impact accident in New York, call our Staten Island T-bone accident lawyer to schedule your free case review today.

What is a T-bone Accident?

As the name implies, a T-bone car accident occurs when the front end of one vehicle collides with the side of another vehicle and forms a “T” shape, resembling the popular cut of steak. Despite the moniker, a T-bone accident is a very serious type of accident because the front end of one vehicle is very heavy and has significant weight from the engine block in it. Whereas the side of the other vehicle is thin and does not have a significant crush zone to diffuse the energy. As a result, the force of an impact – including the direct force from the heavy engine block – is often transferred into the passengers sitting along the side where the impact occurs.

Common Causes of T-Bone Accidents in New York

There are many common causes of side impacts and T-bone accidents in New York. Generally, the majority of these types of accidents are completely avoidable. However, far too many drivers fail to exercise reasonable care when operating their motor vehicles. As a result, most accidents that occur and cause side impacts are those which could have been prevented if a driver was operating his or her vehicle in a reasonably safe manner.

Some of the most common causes of side impacts include the following:

• Running a stop sign
• Speeding
• Distracted driving like texting while driving
• Running a red light
• Drunk driving
• Drugged driving
• Turning from the wrong lane
• Failing to yield to oncoming traffic
• Improper left turns
• Driver inexperience
• Unsafe U-turns
• Drifting from one’s lanes
• Improper merging onto or off of a highway
• Driving too fast for the weather or traffic conditions, and
• Other types of misconduct, reckless driving, or carelessness that our Staten Island T-bone accident lawyer can handle for you and your family.

Personal Injuries Caused by T-bone Accidents

Due to the fact that the heaviest part of one vehicle is colliding with the thinnest part of another vehicle, the personal injuries sustained by victims are often catastrophic and outright devastating. This is particularly true when the vehicle causing the collision with its front end is a large semi-tractor trailer, SUV, pickup truck, delivery vehicle, bus, or another type of heavy vehicle. Indeed, research has indicated that side impact collisions between passenger vehicles and SUVs often results in catastrophic injuries for passengers in the smaller vehicles that are hit on their side.

Some of the most common types of personal injuries resulting from side impact and T-bone collisions in New York include the following:

• Traumatic brain injuries – commonly referred to as TBIs, this includes concussions (also called mild TBIs or mTBIs), diffuse axonal injuries (DAIs), coup-contrecoup injuries, brain bleeds, and other types of head injuries.
• Spinal cord injuries – also known as SCIs, these types of injuries are to the spinal cord which transfers messages to and from the brain and the rest of the peripheral nervous system. Due to this, SCIs often result in disability, including paralysis, weakness, paraplegia, quadriplegia, and other types of nervous system injuries and damage.
• Broken bones – including significant fractures and damage requiring surgical intervention and the installation of painful hardware such as rods, pins, screws, plates, and other devices.
• Amputations – the loss of a limb is significant and disabling, especially when it is a larger part of a limb such as above the elbow or above the knee. However, all losses are significant, including fingers or toes, and should be evaluated by an experienced Staten Island T-bone accident lawyer.
• Organ injuries – damage to the lungs, heart, kidneys, liver, pancreas, stomach, and other organs are common in motor vehicle accidents, especially T-bone collisions where there is often very little protections on the side of the victim’s vehicle from a direct impact.
• Nerve injuries – brachial plexus and facial nerve injuries are very common in serious motor vehicle accidents, especially side-impact crashes.
• Significant disfigurement – even in low-speed collisions, extreme damage to a person’s body can result in significant scarring and disfigurement.
• Shoulder injuries – rotator cuff injuries, SLAP tears, A-C joint damage, impingement, distal longhead bicep damage, dislocations, separations, and other types of shoulder injuries are commonly caused in side impact crashes.
• Knee injuries – torn meniscus or a torn ligament such as the LCL, PCL, ACL, or MCL, as well as patella fractures, dislocations, and other damage usually require surgical intervention and frequently cause some permanent disability, range of motion restrictions, or other limitations for victims.
• Wrongful death – the ultimate personal injury is often said to be death, which is irreversible and no amount of compensation can bring back a loved one. However, a wrongful death lawyer can recover compensation for a family to cover a lost loved one’s medical expenses, lost income, support, and other losses associated with the accident, as well as damages associated with the wrongful death such as burial and funeral costs.
• Any other damages caused by a T-bone or side impact accident in New York that resulted in serious personal injuries or the wrongful death of a loved one due to the negligence of a defendant.

Can I Still Recover Compensation if I Was Partially At Fault for My T-bone Accident in New York?

Yes, victims who were partially at fault for their T-bone motor vehicle accident may still be entitled to compensation for their damages. States follow either a comparative negligence or a contributory negligence statutory scheme as it relates to fault of a victim in a personal injury accident. New York follows the comparative negligence setup, which means that a victim’s comparative negligence will proportionally reduce his or her total recovery but not bar a recovery.

For instance, if a jury or court has awarded a plaintiff a $100,000 verdict against a defendant, but finds that the victim was 25% at fault for the crash, the victim’s total award will generally be reduced to $75,000.

Injured in a Side Impact Crash? Call Our Staten Island T-bone Accident Lawyer for Help with Your Case Today

Victims who are seriously injured or who lose a loved one in a T-bone motor vehicle accident may be entitled to compensation under New York law. Even where liability is clear, defense lawyers and their insurance carriers will often fight to make victims prove liability, causation, and damages. Sometimes they will even employ certain tricks or tactics that help undermine or minimize the total recovery that a victim may be entitled to under the law – and sometimes it works.

That’s why victims and their families need to hire an experienced Staten Island T-bone accident lawyer to fight back to protect their rights to compensation under the law. Even where a victim is partially at fault, that does not mean that victims cannot recover compensation for the negligence accident that a defendant has caused. With The O’Connor Law Firm, our experienced legal team can help investigate the circumstances surrounding your accident, work with your treating physicians to help support your injury claim, hire leading experts to help prove your damages, and zealously represent you and your family to recover a favorable settlement or to seek your legal remedies in court.

To learn more about how the O’Connor Law Firm can help you and your family, contact us today by dialing (718) 948-3500 or by sending us an email through our “Contact Us” box available here. We stand ready to protect your rights against some of the largest defense law firm and insurance carriers in the region, if not in all of New York. Call us today to schedule your free case evaluation.