Also known as “broadside” traffic wrecks or T-bone collisions, side-impact car and truck accidents are one of the more dangerous types of roadway encounter that happen on a regular basis in Baltimore, Rockville, Annapolis and the District of Columbia. As experienced Maryland auto injury attorneys, the legal team at Lebowitz & Mzhen Personal Injury Lawyers, is familiar with the serious and sometimes life-threatening nature of injuries produced by such a violent motor vehicle collision, especially when a passenger car is struck by a much larger and more massive commercial vehicle.
The most likely place that front-to-side automobile collisions occur is at busy intersections, such as those found all around the state of Maryland. In fact, some of the most serious and deadly motor vehicle accidents can happen not only in larger urban areas such as Frederick, Gaithersburg and Bowie, but also at any heavily-traveled suburban or rural intersection. Wherever it takes place, however, the worst-case results can range from severe to catastrophic.
Traffic accidents rarely discriminate; and the people who are hurt or killed by such an event can be spouses, children, parents or grandparents, as well as coworkers, friends or neighbors. These T-bone type of collisions usually happen between two individual motor vehicles, such as when a car or truck slams into the driver or passenger side of another vehicle at busy highway crossing. The attorneys at Lebowitz & Mzhen understand that one of the more deadly scenarios that defines these right-angle wrecks involve cars or trucks coming together at a four-way intersection usually controlled by a stop sign or traffic light.
In a side-impact car crash, it is quite common for one of the drivers to have overlooked or otherwise ignored the traffic control signal. The so-called “blowing” of a stop sign can be one of several primary causes for a broadside impact. Timing will usually determine which car is hit by the other. But regardless of which driver ignored the stop signal, the results can be tragic for the occupants of the vehicle that is struck from the side. While automobile safety has advanced greatly over the years, the energy imparted to the driver- or passenger-side of a vehicle by the front end of another fast-moving automobile or commercial truck can cause serious injury or even life-threatening trauma to one or more of the passengers in the vehicle that is hit.
The severity of injuries resulting from a broadside impact has as much to do with speed as it does the relative size of the motor vehicles involved. In this regard, it should be noted that motorcycle riders who are struck by a car or truck during a side-impact collision usually have it worst of all. Unlike passenger car occupants who have the benefit of the vehicle’s structure to absorb some of the impact force -- not to mention side-impact airbags and other passenger protection devices -- a motorcycle offers no such protection to its rider and/or passenger. The result can be fatal in these kinds of car-bike or truck-motorcycle broadside wrecks.
As legal professionals, the trial lawyers at the law offices of Lebowitz & Mzhen are well aware of the potential for severe injury or permanent disability following this kind of deadly traffic accident. In representing a client who has become a victim of a broadside collision, our job is to collect all the facts, including police reports and eye-witness accounts of the crash, and prepare the case with the full intent of taking the case to trial.
According to statistics collected by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), the two major factors in two-vehicle collisions, of which side-impact accidents are a part, include traffic control signals (traffic lights and stop signs) and roadway characteristics (lane alignment and road surface condition). It is hardly surprising that a driver ignoring or otherwise not recognizing a stop sign is reportedly a major factor in half the fatal roadway collisions every year in this country, according to the NHTSA.
Unfortunately, making traffic control signals more visible may not be the solution to all T-bone type accidents. As experienced auto injury lawyers, we know that numerous broadside accidents involve drunken driving and distracted driving, not to mention drowsy driving and speeding. It’s almost a given that every driver will at one time or another in his life be involved in a roadway accident. Whether that episode will be minor or serious will have a great deal to do with fate.
As Maryland traffic accident lawyers, Lebowitz & Mzhen encourages victims of auto, truck or motorcycle accidents to consult with a qualified legal expert as soon as possible following a serious traffic collision. Since broadside-type car and truck wrecks can many times involve the negligent driver receiving a traffic citation or even being charged with a criminal offense, having a skilled attorney at your side is never a bad idea.
There is no point in trying to go it alone when one’s life or the financial future of one’s family is at stake. Receiving due compensation for one’s injuries is only right when those injuries were caused by another person’s negligence. Whether you require compensation for medical expenses, lost wages, or pain and suffering, the legal team at Lebowitz & Mzhen is ready and willing to work for you. Call us today at (800) 654-1949 to schedule a free, no-obligation consultation. Or, email Jack Lebowitz or Vadim Mzhen to set up a meeting to discuss your case.