Where to Go for Assistance Following an Auto Collision
You should hire the best personal injury attorney you can find, preferably a Texas car accident lawyer who has been certified by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization as a specialist in personal injury trial law, in order to ensure that you recover an amount of money that accurately reflects the full range of damages that you and your family have endured.
At McKay Law, you may discover the knowledgeable, specialized representation required for an accident-related injury or death. Call us or use the form to contact us right now for a free case evaluation.
Choosing a Texas Car Accident Lawyer for Your Case
The qualifications and experience of the attorney you select to represent you can have a significant impact on how it turns out. Here are some recommendations for choosing the best attorney for your automobile accident case:
1. Select a Texas car accident lawyer who is board-certified and whose practice is limited to this area of the law.
2. Select a legal representative with extensive trial expertise and a track record of successfully presenting cases in court. (Insurance companies frequently provide better out-of-court settlements because they know which attorneys would fight tooth and nail for their clients and want to avoid the expense and unpredictability of a trial.)
3. Verify the AVVO rating of the lawyer. Seek a score of 10 out of 10.
4. Choose a Texas Car Accident Lawyer who has experience winning high-stakes cases. A lawyer in the Million Dollar Advocates Forum has won settlements and verdicts worth more than $1 million for specific clients.
5. Make sure the attorney you choose has access to accident reconstruction specialists and traffic safety engineers who can support and expertly testify to help prove your case.
6. Select a legal representative who makes you feel at ease, is attentive to your needs, and is dedicated to keeping you updated on the status of your case.
Texas Typical Auto Accident Causes
A car accident can be brought on by a brief moment of inattention from the road. Over 460 highway fatalities in Texas were caused by distracted driving in 2022. The prevalence of cell phones has increased the incidence of accidents involving distracted drivers who are talking on the phone.
Even when using a hands-free device, talking on the phone while driving increases the risk of an accident, but texting while driving is far more dangerous. Driving while sending or reading text messages increases the risk of a collision by 23 times. A driver can be distracted in a variety of other ways besides using a cell phone, like:
- Rubbernecking: seeing police pursuits, auto collisions, pileups, or other roadside events,
- Observing the scenery
- Distractions brought on by kids or other passengers,
- Changing a CD, the radio station, or the GPS;
- Personal grooming, such as hair styling and cosmetics application.
- Consuming food or liquids,
- Leashed animals, and
- Perusing a newspaper, a book, a map, or written directions.
It is the duty of every driver to stay focused when operating a motor vehicle. A driver who is inattentive or distracted may be held liable for any harm they cause to others.
DUI: Driving While Intoxicated or High
The mix of drinking and driving can be fatal. According to the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration (NHTSA), alcohol-related collisions claimed 10,076 lives nationwide in 2013. Drugs, both legal and illicit, prescription and over-the-counter, as well as alcohol, can all impair driving.
It is the duty of every driver to avoid driving while under the influence of any substance, regardless of its legality. For injuries caused to other road users, an impaired driver may be held civilly liable. In some circumstances, particularly when blood alcohol levels are over.08, criminal penalties may also be applicable.
1,089 fatalities in Texas were caused by DUI accidents in 2013, accounting for nearly one-third of all roadway fatalities in the state that year. Between 2:00 am and 2:59 am, more accidents involving drunk drivers happened than at any other period of the day.
Speeding
Excessive speeding can lead to deadly accidents and is frequently accompanied by other aggressive driving practices like weaving in and out of traffic and making risky lane changes. The legal speed limit in Texas, which is the highest in the country at 85 mph on some highways, is the highest in the country. This means that even a small amount of speeding can have a significant impact if the driver hits a cyclist or another vehicle.
What Kinds of Accidents Occur Most Frequently in Texas
Accidents that cause serious injuries can take many different forms, including sideswipes, head-on collisions, T-bone side impacts, rear-end collisions, and vehicle rollovers.
Rear-End Collisions
Statistics show that rear-end collisions are the most typical kind of auto accident. The NHTSA estimates that they account for 29.6% of all auto accidents. The usual culprits include distracted driving and tailgating.
Always, the driver of the automobile in the back is at fault. While some accidents are quite mild, painful neck and back injuries including herniated discs, strains, and sprains frequently happen. Fortunately, fatalities are rarer in rear-end collisions than in many other accident types, albeit occasionally occurring.
Direct collisions
The least common but deadliest sort of auto accident is a head-on collision. According to the NHSTA, even though they account for only 2% of all collisions, they account for 10% of all traffic fatalities. Usually, there is some kind of driver impairment—be it from alcohol, drugs, weariness, or distraction. The following are some of the most typical causes of head-on collisions:
- One vehicle veered into the middle of the road and into the opposing lane, directly into the path of another vehicle
- A motorist who enters a freeway on the incorrect ramp and drives against the flow of traffic
- A driver who entered a one-way street going the wrong way
Side-Impact T-Bone Accidents
A T-bone collision is one where a vehicle strikes another broadside, usually at around a 90-degree angle.
T-bone collisions typically occur at intersections when a vehicle fails to stop at a red light or stop sign and slams into the side of a vehicle that is legally in the intersection, or when a vehicle makes a left turn while failing to yield to oncoming traffic and collides with the side of a vehicle that is legally in its proper lane.
T-bone collisions account for roughly 13% of all automobile collisions but 18% of those that result in fatalities. They are the second deadliest accident category, killing about 9000 individuals annually.
Sideswipes
A sideswipe is another type of side impact collision that occurs when a car strikes another vehicle moving in the same direction at a glancing angle, often during a lane change or while attempting to pass or merge into traffic from a ramp.
Sideswipes sometimes occur between two cars moving in opposite directions, when one car drifts into the opposite on a two-lane road, glancing off the side of an oncoming vehicle.
Rollovers
Rollover accidents, in which a car flips over and lands on its roof, make up about 2.3 percent of all car accidents. They are very serious and have a high fatality rate. Rollovers are most common in older SUVs and vans with a high center of gravity, which makes them less stable.
Rollovers often occur when rounding a curve or as a result of being hit by another vehicle. SUVs manufactured after 1993 have electronic stability devices and are less likely to roll than the earlier models.