Head-on collisions occur when one motor vehicle impacts another motor vehicle, front to front. The types of crashes often result in the most devastating and severe injuries, including death, due to the multiplied force generated from opposite traveling heavy objects. Statistics from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) indicate that although head-on collisions constitute only 2 percent of all motor vehicle accidents, they account for 10 percent of all auto accident fatalities.
A tragic example of a head-on collision occurred around 6:30 p.m. on Aug. 22 when a southbound pickup drove into the northbound lane of U.S. 41 in Henderson, KY. According to Officer Jennifer Richmond of the Henderson Police Department, the pickup impacted a FedEx semi-truck head-on. The coroner of Henderson County declared the driver of the pickup deceased at the scene.
Reasons for head-on collisions
Typically, a head-on crash occurs when one motor vehicle crosses over a median or centerline and impacts another approaching vehicle in the opposite direction. These deadly collisions can also occur when a driver, either on purpose or unintentionally, drives against traffic in the wrong direction or lane. Various activities can instigate a head-on collision, including quickly changing lanes due to a stopped vehicle or approaching construction, driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs, distracted driving, attempting to pass on a two-lane road, driving with excessive speed and losing control, vehicle malfunction, and roadway defects.
When a large truck participates in a head-on collision
The velocity and weight of the vehicles involved in a head-on collision contribute significantly to the amount of damage sustained by each vehicle and the vehicles’ occupants. In cases when a medium or large size truck impacts a passenger vehicle, which often occurs due to distracted driving, intoxication, or sleep deprivation, occupants of the passenger vehicle will often sustain life altering injuries or even death.
Injuries often sustained in head-on collisions
The injuries sustained in head-on collisions often include spinal cord injuries leaving the individual with paraplegia or quadriplegia, serious head and brain injuries, damage to internal organs, and multiple fractures to bones throughout the body.
Taking a car accident case to trial
Attorneys who routinely handle litigation involving head-on crashes generally have extensive knowledge of the numerous factors and causes related to these accidents. It is important to have an attorney who understands how head-on collision claims for compensation are litigated. Often, it is necessary to secure expert testimony from professionals in the fields of accident reconstruction and biomechanical engineering in order to establish the negligence of a particular driver deemed by the plaintiff as responsible for the accident. Attorneys helping clients file these cases must also have the necessary resources to retain experts in different economic and medical fields in order to effectively present the damages imposed upon the victim as deserving of proper compensation.
Unfortunately, unsafe drivers travel the roads and highways with all of us each day. If you have been injured in a head-on crash with a truck or other motor vehicle due to the negligence of another party, you may have the right to compensation for your losses. At Crandall & Pera Law, we are here to help you move forward and recover the financial resources you deserve. To set up a free consultation about your car accident case, call our Ohio or Kentucky law offices today at 877.686.8879, or use our contact form to send us an email.