Lake Charles T-Bone Accident Attorneys
Have you been injured in a T-bone accident? Then you understand what a sudden and frightening event a side-impact collision can be. You may be overwhelmed by everything that is coming at you in the moments, days, and weeks after the accident itself. Understanding what comes next may be difficult, especially when you feel trapped by the mounting medical bills and persistent phone calls from insurance adjusters.
After a T-bone accident, you need someone on your side, protecting your rights and fighting to keep insurance adjusters from taking advantage of you. That’s where the team at Veron Bice, LLC comes in. We help T-bone accident victims navigate life after a serious accident. We manage everything from filing an accident claim with the insurance company, to investigating the accident, to negotiating for fair compensation. When you reach out to Veron Bice, LLC for help, you’ll never have to feel alone or isolated in your journey towards justice.
If you are interested in learning more about what we may be able to do to help you after a serious T-bone accident, call us at 337-310-1600 today. We can set up a free case review to talk about your situation and answer your questions. The Lake Charles car accident attorneys of Veron Bice, LLC want to help you recover the money you deserve.
Anatomy of a T-Bone Accident
A side-impact collision is more commonly referred to as a T-bone accident. This type of collision occurs when the front of a vehicle hits the side of another vehicle. The result is a collision pattern the looks like a capital “T.” These types of crashes are also sometimes referred to as broadside collisions.
T-bone accidents often happen in intersections and are most often the result of a car or truck running a red light or stop sign. While a car proceeds through what they believe to be a safe intersection, another vehicle, which may have run a red light, quickly proceeds into the same intersection. The result is typically a T-bone or side-impact accident. These types of accidents may only involve two vehicles, but they can quickly turn into multi-vehicle crashes if a car is hit with enough force that it goes spinning into other lanes of traffic. The sheer force of a T-bone accident may even cause a victim’s car to flip over onto its side or to completely roll over.
Causes of T-Bone Accidents
Certain driving behaviors lead to T-bone accidents more often than not. A distracted driver may not notice that they are approaching a stop sign. A drunk driver may not be aware they are going through a red light. A speeding driver may not be able to stop before hitting another car. These are just a few of the behaviors that can result in a serious T-bone accident.
The most common causes of T-bone accidents tend to include:
- Distracted driving
- Intoxicated driving
- Fatigued driving
- Running a stop sign
- Running a red light
- Failure to yield
- Failing to obey traffic laws
- Speeding
- Defective brakes
- Mechanical malfunctions
Injuries Associated with T-Bone Accidents
Side impact crashes can be particularly devastating because they can happen without warning and at high speeds. A driver may be speeding to “beat the light” before it turns red. When another driver enters the intersection thinking that they have the right of way and it is safe, they don’t expect a sudden impact coming from the side.
The victim in this scenario has extraordinarily little time to react and almost no room to be able to maneuver out of the way without potentially risking hitting other drivers. The result can be significant and even deadly injuries for passengers caught in the crossfire, especially children.
Injuries commonly associated with T-bone and side-impact crashes tend to include:
- Traumatic brain injury
- Concussion
- Whiplash
- Other head, neck, and spinal injuries
- Facial injuries
- Fractured bones
- Crushed ribs
- Organ damage
- Burns
- Lacerations
- Contusions
- Wrongful Death
Compensation that May Be Available to Victims
How much is a T-bone collision claim worth? The answer is not always so straightforward. The value of a claim can vary, and it depends on a variety of factors, including the severity of the accident itself. The more severe a victim’s injuries, the higher their medical bills are likely to be. The severity of a victim’s injuries may also impact their continued quality of life. If a T-bone accident leaves a victim with disabling or disfiguring injuries, that may constitute a need for more compensation.
In general, compensation is broken down into two categories: economic and non-economic. Economic damages are considered “measurable losses,” while non-economic damages are intangible items, such as mental anguish and quality-of-life changes. Economic damages are more straightforward to calculate, while non-economic damages can be more subjective.
Combining the totals of these two categories results in the value of a T-bone accident claim. An experienced attorney will be able to properly assess your accident, your injuries, and your losses to arrive at an appropriate amount of compensation for your losses.
In total, compensation for a T-bone accident may include money for the following:
- Medical expenses
- Lost wages
- Loss of earning capacity
- Property damage
- Disability
- Disfigurement
- Pain and suffering
Victims need to be aware that the total value of their claim may not always be the same as what they walk away with in the end. Who is ultimately liable for causing the accident can also play a role in compensation distribution.
Liability Questions in T-Bone Accident Claims
Establishing liability after a T-bone accident is immensely important. A complete investigation into the circumstances of the accident may be required to fully understand how the accident took place and who is to blame. An attorney is a valuable resource for victims of T-bone accidents because an attorney has the power and the resources to get to the bottom of who is at fault.
If the accident took place at an intersection, an attorney may be able to recover video footage of the accident from nearby businesses or establishments. An attorney may also be able to gain access to traffic cameras in the area and valuable data about the timing of the traffic lights, which may help establish how the accident happened as well. It may even be valuable for an attorney to examine the cell phone records of the other driver for the time of the accident in case distracted driving was a contributing factor.
Why is all of this information gathering so important? Because in court, your portion of liability influences how much compensation you are ultimately allowed to recover. Louisiana is a “pure comparative fault” state. A pure comparative fault model means that the amount of money that a person may be able to recover after an accident is reduced by the same percentage of their own liability for causing the accident. If a victim is found to have played any role at all in causing a T-bone crash, even just ten percent, their total compensation will be reduced by ten percent.
This model also allows at-fault parties to collect compensation after an accident. If a driver is 95 percent to blame for causing an accident, they can claim the total amount of compensation they are due for their losses, minus 95 percent. Even though they are allowed to collect a small portion of compensation, the at-fault driver is also ultimately responsible for paying for the victim’s portion of the compensation too.
The pure comparative fault rule is strictly followed by Louisiana courts. However, the rule also guides the decisions made by insurance adjusters when it comes to their estimate of the value of a claim. An insurance adjuster will usually take into consideration what a judge or jury would decide if the claim ever made it to a court. Thus, while the rule may not bind an insurance adjuster in the same way that it does the courts, it does influence how an adjuster will estimate the value of compensation.
How Much Will an Attorney Cost?
At Veron Bice, LLC, we believe that the quality of a person’s legal representation should not be determined by the thickness of their wallet. We take cases on a contingency-fee basis. That means you pay us nothing up front. Once we have obtained compensation for you, we will take an agreed-upon percentage of that compensation. If we don’t win money for you, you will never owe us anything.
Contact an Experienced Lake Charles T-Bone Accident Attorney Today
A T-bone accident can be a sudden and frightening event. The toll it can take on your finances may feel like it came on just as suddenly as the accident itself. Before you are overwhelmed with bills and feel like you have no other choice but to accept whatever the insurance company offers you, talk to an experienced Lake Charles T-bone accident attorney.
At Veron Bice, LLC, we can review your situation and assess the value of your accident claim. From there, we can explore all legal avenues for helping you recover the compensation that you deserve. Reach out to our team today by calling 337-310-1600 and requesting a free case review.
