Why Are Side-Impact Car Accident Injuries So Severe?
A side-impact collision can cause devastating injuries even when the vehicles are traveling at speeds that might not seem extreme. Unlike the front and rear of a vehicle, the side of a passenger compartment provides much less space between an occupant and the point of impact. When another vehicle strikes a driver’s door or passenger door, the force can be transferred almost directly into the person sitting beside it. Airbags, reinforced doors, and other safety features provide important protection, but they cannot eliminate the tremendous forces produced by a serious T-bone crash. We frequently see side-impact accident victims suffer injuries that require hospitalization, surgery, rehabilitation, and months or years of continuing care.
Under Michigan law, the severity of these injuries can affect both the benefits available through Michigan no-fault insurance and whether an injured person has a right to pursue the negligent driver for additional damages. When we investigate these cases, we look beyond the initial diagnosis. We consider how the crash happened, which side of the vehicle was struck, the force of impact, the medical prognosis, and how the injuries have changed our client’s everyday life.
Why The Human Body Is So Vulnerable In A Side-Impact Collision
Modern vehicles have substantial crumple zones in the front and rear. Those areas are designed to absorb some crash energy before it reaches the passenger compartment. There is far less distance available when a vehicle is struck from the side.
In a driver’s-side collision, for example, only the door, structural components, and safety systems may separate the driver from the striking vehicle. The occupant can also be thrown sideways inside the passenger compartment. This movement places unusual stress on the head, neck, shoulders, spine, pelvis, hips, and internal organs.
The severity of an injury depends on factors such as vehicle speed, angle of impact, vehicle size, occupant position, seat belt use, and whether the struck vehicle rotates or rolls after the initial collision.
Serious Injuries We See After T-Bone Accidents
Side-impact crashes can cause several injuries at the same time. A person may initially focus on one obvious injury, such as a fractured arm, while doctors later diagnose spinal damage, a concussion, or another condition.
We commonly investigate claims involving traumatic brain injuries, cervical and lumbar spine injuries, herniated discs, fractured ribs, shoulder injuries, pelvic fractures, hip fractures, leg injuries, and internal organ damage. Severe impacts can also cause permanent nerve damage or mobility problems.
These injuries can carry consequences far beyond the original emergency room visit. Surgery may be necessary. A person may need physical therapy, injections, assistive devices, home care, or future medical procedures. Some victims cannot return to their previous jobs or resume activities they performed before the accident.
Michigan No-Fault Benefits After A Side-Impact Accident
Michigan’s no-fault system may provide Personal Injury Protection benefits after a motor vehicle accident. Under MCL 500.3107, qualifying PIP benefits can include allowable expenses for reasonably necessary accident-related medical care, certain work-loss benefits, and replacement-service expenses, subject to the applicable statutes, coverage selections, and limitations.
These benefits are separate from a liability claim against the driver who caused the collision. That distinction becomes particularly important after a severe side-impact accident because a seriously injured person’s losses may extend well beyond immediate medical expenses.
We examine every potentially available source of insurance coverage rather than assuming one policy will cover every loss.
When We Can Pursue The At-Fault Driver For Pain And Suffering
Michigan’s MCL 500.3135 permits an injured person to pursue noneconomic damages arising from the ownership, maintenance, or use of a motor vehicle when the person has suffered death, permanent serious disfigurement, or a serious impairment of body function.
Michigan law defines a serious impairment of body function through specific requirements. The impairment must be objectively manifested, involve a body function of great importance to that particular person, and affect the person’s general ability to lead their normal life.
That last issue can become particularly important after a serious side-impact collision. We look closely at what our client could do before the crash compared with what the injuries permit afterward. Limitations involving employment, walking, driving, household responsibilities, caring for children, exercise, recreation, sleep, and other activities can become important evidence.
Who Is At Fault For A Michigan Side-Impact Accident?
Many T-bone crashes occur at intersections. One driver may run a red light, disregard a stop sign, fail to yield while turning left, or enter an intersection when another vehicle has the right of way.
Liability is not always as obvious as the vehicle damage suggests. Drivers may give conflicting accounts, and an at-fault driver’s insurer may attempt to shift part of the blame onto the injured person.
We may use traffic-camera footage, nearby surveillance video, eyewitness testimony, photographs, vehicle damage, event data recorder information, police reports, phone records when appropriate, and reconstruction evidence to establish what occurred.
How Comparative Fault Can Affect Compensation
Michigan’s comparative fault rules can directly affect the amount recovered. Under MCL 600.2959, damages can be reduced according to the injured person’s percentage of comparative fault. Michigan motor vehicle cases are also subject to the provisions of MCL 500.3135, including its rule restricting non-economic damages when an injured person is more than 50 percent at fault.
Suppose another driver runs a red light and causes a side-impact collision but argues that the injured driver was speeding. The insurer may attempt to assign some percentage of responsibility to the injured driver and reduce the value of the claim.
We take allegations of comparative fault seriously because even a relatively small percentage can affect the amount ultimately recovered.
Compensation After A Severe Side-Impact Collision
A serious side-impact injury claim may involve several categories of losses. Depending on the facts and applicable insurance coverage, compensation may address medical treatment, lost earnings, diminished earning capacity, future medical needs, pain and suffering, disability, scarring, disfigurement, and other legally recoverable damages.
We do not evaluate a severe injury claim based only on bills already incurred. If a doctor expects future surgery, permanent restrictions, ongoing rehabilitation, or reduced ability to work, those consequences can be important when determining the claim’s full value.
Why Evidence Should Be Preserved Quickly
Side-impact cases often turn on which driver had the right of way. Valuable evidence can disappear soon after the collision. Businesses may overwrite surveillance recordings, vehicles can be repaired or destroyed, and witnesses may become difficult to locate.
Michigan also imposes legal deadlines. MCL 600.5805 generally provides a three-year limitations period for actions seeking damages for personal injury, although different deadlines and requirements can apply depending on the nature of the claim.
We prefer to investigate serious collisions while physical evidence and witness information are still available rather than trying to reconstruct those details much later.
Speak With Ravid & Associates, P.C. About Your Serious Side-Impact Accident
A serious T-bone collision can affect your health, your ability to work, your independence, and your family’s financial security. We investigate how the collision occurred, identify available insurance coverage, document the complete extent of our client’s injuries, and pursue the compensation permitted under Michigan law. When an insurance company disputes fault or minimizes the severity of an injury, we work to build the evidence needed to hold the responsible parties accountable.
If you or a family member suffered serious injuries in a side-impact accident, contact our Detroit auto accident lawyers at Ravid & Associates, P.C. today by calling (248) 948-9696 to receive your free consultation. We represent injured people in Detroit and throughout the entire state of Michigan from our office locations in Southfield, Michigan. We can review what happened, explain how Michigan law applies to your claim, and discuss the compensation that may be available for your injuries and losses.
