Hartford T-Bone Car Accident Lawyer

A T-bone accident can leave a lasting weight on the victim and their family as they juggle physical and financial recovery with all of the responsibilities involved in an injury claim.

In Connecticut, the most common course of action for recovering from auto accident damage is to file an insurance claim with the liable party’s insurer. While a claimant can settle a claim without representation, how can one be sure that they are walking away with a comprehensive settlement that covers expenses in the present and future?

An attorney can help you understand what options are available to financially recover from a T-bone accident, and they will represent your legal interests as each step plays out. The liable party’s insurer will hire a professional adjuster to finalize your settlement, but with an attorney, you gain your own team of professionals who can review the same data to ensure you are not settling for a lowball offer.

Find out more about how to claim your damages after a T-bone accident when you call (203) 633-7449 or contact us online to schedule a free, no-obligation case review.

What Are the Steps for Filing a Claim With a Hartford T-Bone Car Accident Attorney?

Just like with anything in life, the more you practice, the better you understand the task at hand.

Imagine how confident a seasoned insurance adjuster is with their task of finalizing claims. These professionals are skilled at their job — but the only catch is that they do not work for you, the accident victim.

In fact, these professionals do not even work for their policyholders but instead answer to the company and its investors. Accordingly, they want to avoid paying damages to the extent legally possible.

Every entity involved in a T-bone wreck may have a different goal when settling an insurance claim: the negligent party likely hopes the situation will resolve quickly and without much consequence; the insurer anticipates ways to save money; and the victim of the accident simply wants their incurred expenses paid off.

Unlike a hired representative of the auto insurance company, a Hartford T-bone accident attorney will act with your interests in mind, representing your needs as the client.

Your attorney will efficiently manage the steps of your financial recovery, including:

• Reporting the damage to the liable party’s insurer: While most claimants will make the initial report of the accident on their own, an attorney can help prepare the necessary documents and evidence required for submission. This step should be completed as soon as possible.
• Investigating the events of the accident: After a report has been filed, the insurance representative will deep-dive into the evidence and other submitted information to piece together the course of the accident’s events. Your attorney will do the same to avoid any gray area regarding how the crash happened.

• Valuing all damages: Your attorney can help you organize the documents that record your incurred expenses and help you understand exactly what may be covered by the negligent party. These documents will be essential for both the insurance representative and your attorney to estimate the value of your claim.

• Negotiating a settlement value: Even after the cost of all damages has been assessed, the representatives of all those involved must come to an agreement on the final compensation. Ultimately, the decision to take a settlement offer is up to the crash victim, but your attorney will help you avoid falling for attempts to undervalue their claim’s worth.

• Preparation for a formal lawsuit: Not every case will lead to a lawsuit, but in the event that the insurance representative cannot meet a settlement that the claimant is comfortable with, they may personally sue the other driver for the remainder of their damages. Your attorney can advise if this is a productive approach for your financial recovery.

Common Injuries Sustained From a T-Bone Accident

T-bone accidents involve the front of one vehicle colliding with the side of another, essentially creating a T formation. These accidents could have perilous repercussions for the motorists and any passengers involved, as the clash can cause extreme injuries and leave those impacted with property damage and related expenses.

T-bone accidents are most common around intersections because of the multiple directions that the vehicles are simultaneously traveling, and may even involve additional vehicles that were hit as a result of the original accident.

Roughly 13% of all car accidents are T-bone collisions. A T-bone accident could leave those involved in the crash with serious injuries because of the nature of the impact.

The driver who crashes head-on faced serious risk of facial, chest, and internal injuries, while the motorist who was hit from the side could face serious neck, spine, shoulder, collarbone, rib, and hip injuries.

Some injuries will be difficult to assess on-site, which is why victims of a t-bone crash should immediately seek medical attention. This is especially true if they are older, as they may have serious and potentially fatal conditions, such as internal bleeding. People over 40 make up 50% of all fatal injuries from side-impact crashes.

A T-bone accident can cause a wide variety of serious injuries, but the most commonly treated by medical professionals include:

• Head injuries such as concussions and other TBIs
• Back and neck injuries, like whiplash
• Spinal injuries
• Chest trauma
• Internal injuries
• Breaks, sprains, fractúres, and dislocations
• Burns
• Facial injuries
• Paralysis

How Are T-Bone Accidents Typically Caused?

Almost anything can cause an accident, but t-bone collisions are frequently caused by a short list of similar factors.

This type of crash generally involves a lack of heeding proper right-of-way from at least one driver, ultimately causing a collision. It also has a high chance of involving additional vehicles from the impact of the original accident.

These are generally small damages, such as a swiped side door or broken side mirror, but they can easily lead to a pile-up, a pedestrian getting hurt, or other knock-on effects.

An accident can happen anytime, but t-bone accidents most commonly include the following factors:

• Failure to yield to the right of way: A driver that fails to yield to the other motorist’s right of way will automatically hold at least partial responsibility for the accident. In an accident where a driver runs a red light and t-bones the motorist driving in the other direction, the driver who collided head-on with the side door of another vehicle will be at fault for the crash.
• Distracted driving: Many habits like eating, texting, and even listening to loud music while driving can distract a motorist long enough to cause an accident. For example, a driver who needs to make a left turn out of a shopping center and does not see the oncoming traffic may cause another driver to crash into their side door.
• Speeding: Driving too fast can lead to many types of accidents, and a t-bone accident may occur when a driver fails to gauge the distance between them and another vehicle due to their irregularly fast speed. Speeding can also intensify the impact of an accident, leading to worsened injuries and property damage.

Determining Negligence in a T-Bone Accident

Connecticut is an at-fault state that follows a comparative negligence practice. This means that any motorist who is deemed to hold less than 51% of the blame for the crash can file a claim for compensation to cover the involved damages.

To determine negligence in a t-bone accident, a claimant must prove that the alleged liable party’s actions meet the four points of negligence:

• Duty of care
• Breach of duty
• Causation
• Injury

It is also possible for multiple drivers to hold fault for the accident.

What Damages Could a Claimant Recover in a Settlement?

In an auto accident recovery settlement, a claimant could see compensation for a combination of the following damages:

• Medical expenses, including the cost of continued treatment and physical rehabilitation
• Lost wages and compensation for work lost because of inability to complete job tasks
• Property damage, such as the cost of replacing a vehicle
• Other out-of-pocket expenses related to the crash
• Pain and suffering damages

Working With a Hartford T-Bone Car Accident Law Firm Can Save You Time and Energy

Most people will only ever file a few auto accident insurance claims within their lifetime, but an attorney can represent hundreds within a given year. The experience, knowledge, and resources of a Hartford auto accident law firm can be extremely valuable for claimants, giving them more time to focus on the importance of their physical recovery.

The Bert McDowell legal team can take most of the tedious and time-consuming tasks of litigation off your hands so you can get more of your time back from the accident. Our aim is to help you maximize the compensation you are able to receive.

Your first consultation with Bert McDowell Injury Law is completely free and leaves you with no obligation to continue with our services. The goal of the initial consultation is to go over the details of your accident, map out the next steps for your case, and answer any questions you may have.

Moreover, we promise never to charge upfront fees for our auto accident claim representation services. Instead, we will be paid by a set, agreed-upon percentage of your final settlement.

In other words, we don’t win unless our client does!

To schedule your free case review with a Hartford auto accident attorney, call (203) 633-7449 or contact us online today.