Orange County T-Bone Accident Attorneys

As the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety points out, protecting people in T-bone crashes is not easy because the sides of vehicles have relatively little space to absorb energy and shield occupants, unlike the fronts and rears of cars that have substantial crumple zones.

These are some of the most common injuries we see from people who are injured in T-bone accidents in Orange County, CA:

Arm and Shoulder Injuries

Because the impact is on the side of your vehicle, it’s common for victims of T-bone accidents to suffer serious injuries to their arms and shoulders. In a T-bone accident, your arm and shoulder might get injured as a result of being slammed up against your door.

Wrist and Hand Injuries

The driver’s wrists and hands might get injured in a T-bone accident as a result of them trying to tightly grip the steering wheel to regain control of their vehicle.

Leg and Hip Injuries

Side impacts can cause substantial injuries to your legs and hips. Like your arms and shoulders, your legs and hips might strike against the door in a T-bone accident, or they might get injured from the seatbelt that grabs you tightly to hold your body in place.

Head and Neck Injuries

T-bone accidents might cause injuries to your head or neck. Your head can get injured in a side-impact crash if it slams against the door, the “B pillar, steering wheel, or airbag. Similarly, your neck might get injured in a side-impact crash due to the jolting that occurs, both side-to-side and front-to-back, all the while your seatbelt is trying to hold you in place.

How Are Victims of T-Bone Accidents Compensated?

In order to be compensated for injuries caused by a T-bone accident, you have to meet all the usual elements of a personal injury claim: duty, breach of duty, that breach caused your injuries, and you’re in fact injured.

The most difficult element to prove in a T-bone accident is proving element #2: that the other driver breached a duty of care to you. This refers to liability. As discussed above, a lot of T-bone accidents are he-said/she-said situations. Unless you can prove the other driver ran the red light or ran the stop sign, for example, then you can’t prove they breached any duty of care they owed to you. If that’s the case, then you have no case.