Multiple-Vehicle Collision Lawyers
Multiple-vehicle collisions may sound like something that couldn’t possibly happen very often. In fact, each year in the United States, there are 41 driver deaths in multiple-vehicle collisions per million registered cars.
These kinds of car accidents not only cause significant injuries, but they are also highly complex when it comes to assigning fault. Therefore, it’s essential that you turn to multiple-vehicle collision car accident lawyers for help.
But what is a multiple-vehicle collision, what causes them, and what kind of injuries can they lead to? Learn more from our team at Garces, Grabler & LeBrocq.
What Is Considered a Multiple-Vehicle Collision Accident?
A multiple-vehicle collision is a crash that involves several vehicles. They can occur on highways and other busy roads, where vehicles travel close together and where there are many lanes of traffic.
Most of the time, these types of accidents happen as part of a chain reaction that can begin if a car is rear-ended and pushed forward, leading to the involvement of at least three vehicles. They can also occur if a car is pushed into another lane because of the force of the collision, leading to potentially devastating results.
A multiple-vehicle collision may also happen if two cars collide and stop, leading other cars to crash into them.
It’s uncommon for these kinds of accidents to occur and not result in serious injuries and substantial property damage.
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What Injuries Are Common in Multi-Vehicle Crashes?
Because multi-vehicle crashes involve many cars, the resulting injuries can be severe. Your vehicle can be impacted from many sides, leading your body to also suffer trauma from all of these hits. The best thing you can do if you’ve been in a multi-vehicle accident is to turn to a car accident lawyer for representation.
Whiplash
Whiplash is common in most types of car accidents, including multi-vehicle ones. It’s an injury that occurs when force rapidly moves your head backward and then forward, leading to ligament and muscle strain in your neck.
Often, people assume that whiplash is a minor issue that will resolve itself. While that’s true in certain types of accidents, that’s not always the case with multiple-vehicle crashes because you may be jostled in many directions. This can lead to more severe whiplash.
Some types of whiplash can cause neurological symptoms, including vision problems. This is because the site of the injury can swell and block signals traveling to and from your brain.
Fractures
With enough force, your bones can break during a car accident — especially if you hit any part of the car during the crash. The most serious of fractures are compound ones, which happen when a piece of the broken bone protrudes through the skin.
Chest Trauma
Your chest can experience a substantial amount of trauma during a multi-vehicle car accident. Your seat belt is an invaluable tool, but it can also crack your ribs if the force of the impact is substantial.
A severe hit can even lead to lung punctures and other soft tissue damage. Many times, people don’t realize they’ve suffered chest trauma until the shock of the accident wears off, which is why it’s so important to always have a medical professional assess you after an accident.
Spinal Injuries
In the same way that an accident can cause whiplash, it can also cause spinal injuries. Being shoved forcefully back and forward could lead to fractures, and a blow to the spine could also result in broken vertebrae, tissue damage, and dislocations.
Spinal injuries, even mild ones, often lead to lasting damage that could impact the rest of your life. You can suffer partial or complete paralysis, which could be long-term.
Traumatic Brain Injuries
Traumatic brain injuries occur as a result of jolts, blows, and penetrative injuries. When your brain hits the skull, it results in broken blood vessels, bruising, and much more. All of this can lead to chemical changes in the brain that affect regular function.
Concussions are the mildest type of traumatic brain injury, but they can still cause lasting damage — especially if you’ve suffered concussions before. Traumatic brain injuries tend to be some of the most serious injuries you can sustain in a multiple-vehicle collision.
What Factors Contribute to Multi-Vehicle Crashes?
Multi-vehicle collisions usually occur because of driver error. Learn about factors that can lead to these serious accidents.
Driver Distraction
A driver who’s distracted isn’t paying full attention to the road. This means that they’re more likely to miss hazards that come into their path or changes in road conditions.
For example, if a driver doesn’t realize that there’s been an accident ahead, they could easily collide with stopped vehicles, making the accident worse.
Anything that takes attention away from driving is a distraction, but by far, texting is the biggest driving distraction. Sending or reading a text takes your eyes away from the road for at least five seconds — that’s like driving the length of a football field with your eyes closed.
Intoxication
Driving while under the influence of drugs or alcohol is another factor that can contribute to multi-vehicle accidents. Having just one drink is enough to make you a more dangerous driver because alcohol affects your central nervous system, slowing down your reflexes and impairing your coordination.
You can also get more reckless if you’ve had alcohol or drugs, leading you to take more chances as you drive, which causes you to put yourself and others at risk. Some drivers may even fall asleep on the road if they’ve had too much to drink.
Drugs are also a hazard. Stimulants can make you more impulsive and more prone to aggressive driving, while depressants could slow your reaction times. This includes prescription drugs that cause side effects like drowsiness.
Speeding
A driver traveling at great speeds won’t have as much time to stop if they encounter a hazard on the road. If a vehicle in front suddenly brakes, for example, the speeding car may end up rear-ending them. Because of the speed at which the car was traveling, the collision can cause the car in front to hit another vehicle.
Multi-vehicle collisions in which speeding is a factor tend to lead to the most severe injuries. It’s not uncommon for vehicles to flip, especially if there are also unfavorable weather conditions that make the road slippery.
Visibility Issues
If the road is full of vehicles, it can be difficult to see ahead. Drivers may not even be aware of a collision until it’s right in front of them, and they may not be paying enough attention to ensure they avoid becoming part of the accident.
If there’s fog, rain, or snow, it can impact visibility, potentially making multi-vehicle accidents more likely to happen.
Aggressive Driving
Driver frustration can also be a factor in multi-vehicle car accidents. If there’s a lot of traffic on the road, people may start experiencing road rage, leading to reckless behavior. They may engage in following too closely, rapidly changing lanes, or refusing to yield to other vehicles. All of these things can lead to a crash.
Who’s Liable in a Multi-Vehicle Collision Accident?
Liability isn’t easy to determine in multi-vehicle collisions, but it’s crucial to do so because you don’t want to be saddled with the majority of the blame.
New Jersey functions under a no-fault system when it comes to car accidents, but it also applies a modified comparative negligence statute. That statute says that you can claim compensation from your insurance company as long as your percentage of fault isn’t the greatest among the parties involved.
If it’s determined that you were the person most to blame, then you can’t get compensation. This is a serious issue and one that could even put you in the middle of a lawsuit if the other drivers want to claim non-economic damages.
To help determine fault, police officers on the scene will create a report and begin gathering evidence. They may interview passengers and other drivers, as well as any other bystanders. Insurance companies will also look into the accident.
With so many parties involved in a multi-vehicle collision, you need to have a lawyer representing you who can help establish how the accident occurred so that you can get fair compensation.
Types of Damages You Can Claim After a Multi-Vehicle Collision
After a multi-vehicle collision, you can claim both economic and non-economic damages depending on your insurance policy.
Economic Damages
Economic damages include quantifiable losses, including medical expenses. It’s likely that you’ve suffered serious injuries in a multi-vehicle collision, which could require a lot of medical care. You shouldn’t have to pay these expenses out of your own pocket.
By filing a claim, you can get coverage for a variety of medical expenses, including:
- Hospital stays
- Ambulance fees
- Medication costs
- Therapy costs
- Mobility device purchases
If you need to modify your home or vehicle to accommodate a disability caused by your injury, then you can get coverage for that, too. For injuries that require ongoing care, you can also get future medical coverage.
After a multi-vehicle collision, you may need to take time off from work to recuperate. This means missing out on commissions, wages, and even bonuses you’d otherwise have received. By claiming lost wages, you can get compensated for those losses. It’s possible to claim future lost wages, too.
Economic damages can also cover property damage, which is usually substantial after this type of accident.
Non-Economic Damages
Non-economic damages strive to compensate you for less quantifiable losses you’ve suffered.
Pain and suffering fit into the umbrella of non-economic damages. An accident can leave you with physical and mental trauma, especially a serious one like a multi-vehicle collision, so you can claim these damages.
If you’ve suffered injuries that have made it impossible to live your life as you used to, you can claim loss of enjoyment of life, too.
Loss of consortium is another type of non-economic damage that the loved ones of someone who died or suffered debilitating injuries can claim. It seeks to compensate them for the loss of support and love that they’ve endured.
How Garces, Grabler & LeBrocq Can Help
You never want to file a claim on your own if you’ve been in a complex accident like a multiple-vehicle collision. The insurance company is looking for any way to not pay you what you deserve, so you need to turn to experienced car accident lawyers.
At Garces, Grabler & LeBrocq, we offer representation to people in New Jersey who’ve suffered losses because of someone else’s negligence. We’re a compassionate firm that is tenacious about helping our clients get the compensation they deserve.
We know how to deal with insurance companies and how to gather the evidence that can prove what really happened. With our team by your side, you have access to expert witness testimonies, including accident reconstruction professionals, to help you more easily prove your claim.
Contact the Garces, Grabler & LeBrocq team online or call 800-923-3456 now.
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