All car accidents are bad, even minor fender benders; at best you only have to worry about damage to your vehicle, while at worst you could end up with severe injuries and a mangled car. Needless to say, a car accident is something that everyone wants to avoid. Road rules that strictly govern speeding, drunk driving, distracted driving, and other irresponsible behavior helps to curtail the frequency of car crashes. The same goes for the advanced automotive technology seen in a lot of modern vehicles; technology like automatic emergency braking, blind-spot monitoring, lane-keeping assist, and more helps to keep drivers safe.
However, car accidents still occur and one of the more serious kinds is the T-bone accident. It can cause serious injuries to the occupants of the car which suffered the collision and can cause severe damage to the vehicle as well. Anyone involved in such an accident will likely require extensive medical treatment and repairs to their vehicle, plus they may be unable to work for a while so they may not be able to earn a living while they recuperate. Fortunately, a personal injury attorney can help them to get the compensation they need to cover those expenses so that they do not have to pay out of pocket. Residents in the St. Louis area who need a personal injury lawyer can contact Hipskind and McAninch, LLC to get the help that they need.
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What Is A T-Bone Accident?
A T-bone accident is also called a side-impact accident, and as the name implies, it is when the front of a car collides with the side of another car. This type of accident typically happens when a driver ignores a traffic signal like a red light or a stop sign. When those warnings are ignored, the consequences can be serious because if someone drives through one of those signals, then they may end up running into a driver who has the right of way.
T-bone accidents can be extremely devastating because the force of the collision is centered on the driver or passenger compartment of the car, which has relatively little protection compared to the rest of the vehicle. At most a vehicle will have side impact airbags to absorb some of the force of the crash. That lack of protection means that anyone who bears the brunt of a T-bone collision could be seriously injured or even die.
The Different Types Of T-bone Accidents
Since a car door offers relatively little protection besides side impact airbags, the injuries caused when a vehicle collides into it can be very serious. The following are some of the more common injuries associated with T-bone accidents:
Neck Injuries - When a person gets hit in a T-bone accident, their head remains stable while the rest of the body reacts to the impact. That can cause their neck to absorb most of the force, which makes it whip back and forth. This is called whiplash and it can put a lot of strain on the muscles and ligaments in the neck, the greater the impact, the greater the strain. Unlike in head-on collisions where the head whips front to back, in a T-bone accident the head whips side to side. This can cause nerve damage and severe neck pain.
Concussion - Another consequence of whiplash is that it can end up causing a concussion. This is when the brain slams against the inside of the skull. Concussions can be mild to severe in nature and can cause various neurological conditions like memory loss, confusion, unconsciousness, cognitive impairment, and more. The effects of a concussion can take days, weeks, or years to go away and can sometimes be permanent, though that is mainly with repeated concussions.
Chest Injuries - The upper body takes a lot of the force in a side-impact collision and that can cause rib injuries and other chest problems. That is because a T-bone accident could cause ribs to get broken and a broken rib could puncture a lung, so rib injuries could end up being far more serious than they first appear.
Back Injuries - Since the upper body and neck are severely affected in a T-bone accident, that could cause back and spinal cord injuries as well. That means problems like pinched nerves, herniated discs, back sprains, and more. In the worst-case scenarios, a back injury could lead to paralysis.
Broken Limbs - The arms and legs and the joints connecting them to the body are particularly vulnerable during a side-impact crash. That can lead to broken arms or legs, joint damage, and even a broken pelvis. These are less severe than the other types of injuries but they can be very painful and can leave the victim incapacitated for quite a while.
Contact A Lawyer If You Get Into A T-bone Accident
The consequences of a T-bone accident can be extremely serious and even life-threatening. That is why you need to get in touch with a personal injury attorney as soon as possible after getting into such an accident. You will almost certainly need to pay for extensive medical bills and repair bills, plus you may not be able to work for some time. A personal injury lawyer will fight to get you the compensation you need so that you do not have to worry about those expenses.