Sideswipe Car Accidents and How to Recover From Them

A sideswipe car accident happens when two cars rub against each other’s sides. Sideswipe accidents seemingly come out of nowhere, from outside of your line of vision. You can suffer damage to your car, physical damage to your body, significant expenses, and emotional upset. You deserve compensation for those injuries!If a negligent driver left you injured in a sideswipe car accident, you need a dedicated car accident attorney on your side. At Stewart J. Guss, Attorney at Law, our car accident lawyers are dedicated to fighting for you and your claim’s best possible outcome. Your rights and your rightful compensation matter, and we’re here to help. We are open, for free, 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and you can contact our injury law firm now by CLICKING HERE to submit your case for review.

Sideswipe Accidents: The Statistics

While many people think of sideswipe collisions as little more than nuisances, they can actually be very serious. The Insurance Information Institute (III) shares that sideswipe accidents accounted for 2.6 percent of all traffic deaths and 12.3 percent of all traffic accidents in 2015. When you drive down busy highways and interstates, you naturally have cars all around you. When one of the cars to your side suddenly hits you with its side, it’s called a sideswipe. The inherent surprise element makes the accident that much more dangerous.

Common Causes of Sideswipe Accidents

While every sideswipe accident is unique, several factors commonly play a role:

• When a driver attempts an ill-advised or poorly considered lane change
• When a driver who’s distracted, impaired, or exhausted drifts into the next lane
• When a driver under compensates or overcompensates for a curve
• When a driver changing lanes forgets to check their blind spot
• When a driver engages in road rage or other aggressive driving behavior

Distracted Drivers Often Cause Sideswipe Collisions

Distracted driving is such a common culprit when it comes to sideswipe accidents that this category deserves its own consideration. Driving is a serious responsibility that requires serious attention. When drivers allow their attention to be drawn elsewhere, they endanger everyone with whom they share the road.The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration identifies distracted driving as engaging in any activity that takes the driver’s attention away from driving safely. Furthermore, the NHTSA calls out texting as the most alarming distraction of all. When a driver takes his or her eyes off the road for the five seconds that it takes (on average) to deal with a text, that driver essentially drives blind for the full length of a football field (when traveling at 55 mph). Safe drivers devote their complete attention to the sole task of moving safely through traffic.

Your Sideswipe Accident Injury Claim

Even though sideswipe accidents are not viewed as traumatic as other types of accidents, such as head on crashes, rear-end collisions, or side impact accidents, the results can be just as devastating. When another driver sideswipes your vehicle, it can push your car off the road or into a guardrail. This can cause your car to rollover, run into a tree, or even into traffic going the opposite direction. If a negligent driver left you injured in a sideswipe accident, you have no doubt suffered significant damages:

• Damage to your vehicle
• Medical expenses related to emergency transportation and care, surgery and aftercare, doctor and specialist care, medications, physical therapy, and adaptive medical devices
• The expense associated with lost hours on the job and decreased wages, including the possibility of a diminished career path
• The negative emotional consequences that often go along with violent car accidents

If you’ve sustained in an injury a sideswipe auto accident, seek immediate medical attention. The impact of a sideswipe car accident can produce extreme and extremely dangerous injuries.Your car accident claim must call for the totality of the damages you incur. Another driver’s negligence has left you injured, and you deserve compensation for all the damages that emanate from that negligence. This includes money to help you pay for medical bills, lost wages, property damage, pain and suffering, and more. Your experienced sideswipe car accident attorney will carefully assess your total damages and ensure your claim adequately calls for it.

Injuries Common to Sideswipe Car Accidents

Like any other kind of accident, every sideswipe accident is unique, but there are certain types of injuries that are closely associated with sideswipes:

• Broken bones - Broken bones are not only extremely painful but are also slow to heal. When a broken bone doesn’t heal properly, it can lead to permanent disability, including the loss of a limb.
• Neck injuries - Neck injuries are painful and unpredictable. Neck injuries can become chronic and stay with their sufferers far into the future. Neck injuries are also closely associated with severe headaches and other painful complications.
• Traumatic brain injuries - Traumatic brain injuries (TBIs) are often caused by the head shaking violently back and forth on the neck. These brain injuries are both exceedingly serious and unpredictable. In fact, the emotional component can be even more difficult to overcome than the physical damage incurred.
• Spinal cord injuries - Spinal cord injuries can happen anywhere on the spinal cord, and they often lead to serious chronic conditions. If the injury is very serious, it can cause paralysis at and below the location of the injury.

A sideswipe car accident should never be minimized or discounted. Such accidents can lead to very serious injuries that necessitate immediate and ongoing medical attention. That is why it is important for your personal injury lawyer to work with your medical team to uncover how your injuries will affect your life -and future. 

The Insurance Company

If you’ve suffered an injury in a sideswipe car accident that was caused by another driver’s negligence, you’re going to be dealing with an auto insurance company or two. It’s important to recognize, however, that you are not necessarily in good hands. Insurance companies go to great lengths to protect their bottom lines, and that naturally entails minimizing settlements. While you attend to the important job of recovering both physically and emotionally, allow your experienced sideswipe car accident attorney to fight for the compensation you deserve!

Insurance companies will try their best to reduce or even deny your claim. Their main goal is to pay you as little as possible. They don't care if your sideswipe crash caused significant injuries. To fight against insurance adjusters and their tactics, your personal injury attorney will need to build your case. This often includes investigating the causes of the accident, interviewing eyewitnesses, and establishing who the at-fault driver is.  This takes time and experience - which is why it is best left to an experienced sideswipe accident lawyer.

If You Suffered an Injury in a Sideswipe Accident, You Need an Experienced Sideswipe Car Accident Lawyer

If a negligent driver has left you injured in a sideswipe car accident, the dedicated legal team at Stewart J. Guss, Attorney at Law, is ready to take on your claim and aggressively advocate for your rights. Our experienced sideswipe car accident attorneys have the skill and tenacity to guide your claim toward its best possible resolution.We are nationally recognized for protecting the rights of injured car accident victims for more than 20 years. If you were injured in a car crash, call our office right now to schedule a free consultation! Because we take all of our personal injury cases on a contingency fee basis, you will not owe us a DIME unless we win your case. We’re here to help, 24 hours a day, seven days a week, so please don’t hesitate to contact us today by CLICKING HERE. We offer free case reviews so you can get the help you need now - call us today!