Driving is a serious responsibility, and when motorists fail to take this responsibility seriously enough, dangerous car accidents can result. The immense physical, financial, and emotional losses associated with car accidents can be tremendous, which makes obtaining the compensation to which you are entitled critical. If you or someone you love suffered an injury because of another driver’s negligence, an experienced Midland Car accident lawyer at Stewart J. Guss, Injury Accident Lawyers is standing by to help.
We are a national law firm based in Houston with multiple offices around the country. We also work with affiliate law firms in most states that share our focus and dedication to excellence. No matter where you are located, we may be able to help you, so call or contact us now. We are open, for free, 24 hours a day, seven days a week, at 800-898-4877, or you may contact us now by clicking here to submit your case for review.
Car Crashes in Midland, Texas
Midland’s motto is the sky’s the limit, and its impressive skyline upon approach has also earned it the nickname of The Tall City. Midland serves as the business headquarters of the country’s largest oil-producing region, the Permian Basin.
With all that action, Midland is no stranger to traffic and traffic accidents, and some of the most notorious roadways include:
- Andrews Highway at Golf Course Road
- Loop 250 at Midland Drive and the intersection of Loop 250 and 191
- Wadley at Big Spring Street and Midland Drive
Traffic accidents are common throughout Midland. If another driver’s negligence injured you, consult the dedicated Midland car accident lawyers at Stewart J. Guss, Injury Accident Lawyers.
Common Car Accidents
Car accidents can take all forms, but we can categorize them into several basic types.
Rear-end Accidents
Rear-end accidents are some of the most common car accidents, and they are often the result of distraction on the part of the rear driver. Motorists are responsible for reacting safely to whatever they come across on the roadway, including unexpected stops and traffic that slows suddenly. While rear-end accidents are sometimes nothing more than fender benders, they are often very dangerous in reality (even at low speeds).
T-Bone Accidents
T-bone accidents refer to instances when one car crashes directly into the side of another (forming the shape of a T in the process). Because our vehicles are less well protected at the sides (lacking the buffer of the trunk in the rear and the hood in the front) and don’t have the same airbag protections, T-bone accidents often cause severe injuries.
T-bone accidents are most common in intersections—when at-fault drivers fail to obey traffic signals, signs, lights, or the rules of the road.
Sideswipe Accidents
Sideswipe accidents occur when one car swipes into the side of another (often when the two vehicles are driving side by side. A sideswipe accident can push you into another traffic lane, making these accidents much more dangerous. Driver distraction or impairment often causes sideswipe accidents.
Rollover Accidents
Rollovers are one of the terrifying kinds of car accidents that a motorist can experience, and they often happen due to a driver who over-corrects when they react to something on the road. Drivers who speed excessively and drive recklessly are far more likely to roll their vehicles, and when a car does roll, it puts everyone on the road at considerable risk. The losses associated with rollover accidents tend to be immense.
Head-on Accidents
Head-on accidents involve one vehicle driving headlong into another, and the terror associated with these accidents is difficult to overstate. Head-on accidents tend to be caused by severe driver impairment or extremely fast speeds, and the related danger is just as serious as it sounds.
Your Legal Damages
The covered legal damages—or losses—that you incur as a result of another driver’s negligence include the following primary categories:
Property Damage to Your Car
The damage the other driver causes to your car and its contents is your property damage, and your losses can grow significantly from here.
Your Medical Expenses
A car accident can leave you seriously injured, and you may face current and ongoing medical expenses as a result. Some common injuries are closely associated with secondary health issues and complications that can significantly increase the medical costs you face.
Some typical medical expenses experienced by car accident victims include:
- Emergency treatment and care
- Treatment and care from doctors and other medical professionals
- Surgical care
- Hospital stays
- Medical tests and procedures
- Chiropractic care
- Physical and occupational therapy
- Rehabilitation
- Pain management
- Prescription medications
Your Lost Income
Car accidents are not only costly in terms of property damage and medical bills but can also lead to decreased income due to time lost on the job. This loss can increase if your accident diminishes your earning potential or the course of your career.
Your Pain and Suffering
While it is more difficult to assign a value to your physical and psychological pain and suffering, this loss is very real and can lead to grave consequences. The pain and suffering you endure can make moving forward post-accident that much more challenging, and you should not lose sight of the immense toll that this emotional loss takes on your life and your future in your car accident claim.
Your car accident lawyer will help by giving each element of loss that you experience the attention it deserves.
Driver Negligence
At the heart of every car accident claim is driver negligence. The driver who caused the accident that left you injured engaged in negligent driving, and we can classify such negligence into several basic categories.
Failure to Follow the Rules of the Road
Sometimes drivers simply fail to follow the rules of the road, which can mean failing to stop at a stop sign, running a red light, or any other infractions. All the rules, regulations, and restrictions that guide us as drivers are put in place to help make our roads safer for all who travel on them, and motorists who fail to abide by them often cause dangerous car accidents.
Excess Speed
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) reports that speeding makes our roads more dangerous for everyone on them. In fact, speeding led to 11,258 traffic fatalities in a recent year.
The dangers associated with speeding include:
- The potential for losing control of the vehicle increases.
- The driver requires longer stopping distances, which makes emergency stopping riskier.
- The higher the speed, the higher the degree of crash severity.
- The higher the speed, the less effective the vehicle’s occupant protection equipment is.
Speed is the focus of far too many fatal traffic accident statistics.
Exhaustion
It is challenging to accurately calculate drowsy driving car accidents, but exhaustion is nevertheless known to play a considerable role. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) defines drowsy driving as the practice of driving while experiencing the effects of too little sleep.
In addition to sleep deprivation, the causes of dangerously drowsy driving can include:
- Working odd hours, such as doing shift work
- Having an untreated sleep disorder
- Taking particular prescription or over-the-counter medications
When it comes to drowsy driving, there is the genuine risk of falling asleep behind the wheel, which can prove fatal, but the danger goes beyond this terrifying example, including:
- Drowsy drivers are more inclined to be distracted (or to pay inadequate attention to the road ahead).
- Fatigue increases drivers’ reaction times, which means they react more slowly to challenging driving situations and emergencies ahead.
- Too little sleep can impair a driver’s decision-making abilities.
Exhaustion is difficult to gauge, outside of self-reporting.
Still, the CDC says:
- About 91,000 traffic accidents in a recent year involved driver exhaustion.
- These accidents left 800 people dead.
- Fifty thousand of these accidents led to injuries.
Aggression
While there are a lot of dangerous drivers out there, aggressive drivers are about as scary as they come. The Insurance Information Institute (III) shares that aggressive drivers play a primary role in traffic accidents across the nation. The term aggressive drivers refer to those motorists who treat the roadway as if it belongs to them alone, and in the process, they generally engage in more than one unsafe driving practice at any given time.
Speeding is the hallmark of aggressive driving, so it provides you with a clear picture of exactly how deadly aggressive driving is.
Some of the categories of dangerous driving that aggressive drivers often turn to include:
- Flagrantly ignoring the rules of the road, including refusing to yield the right of way
- Driving far too close to other vehicles (tailgating)
- Aggressively attempting to engage other drivers
- Zipping in and out of traffic
- Engaging in unpredictable driving
- Passing with utter disregard for safety, including passing on the shoulder or even in the ditch
- Physically tapping other vehicles
If you spy an aggressive driver in your midst, alert the authorities when it is safe to do so.
Impairment
In the United States, someone loses their life to a drunk driver every 45 minutes, according to NHTSA. In just one recent year, accident fatalities rose by an alarming 14 percent. Motorists are well aware of the dangers of driving under the influence of alcohol, but this has done little to curb the crime.
Car Insurance Companies
When you seek compensation from another driver, you must file a claim with their auto insurance company. Insurers want to limit payments they make on claims, so they protect their bottom lines. In this effort, they use many tactics to get claimants to accept far less than they deserve.
Some common insurance tricks include:
- Telling you that you do not need a lawyer (you do)
- Promising you they are on your side (they are not)
- Blaming you for part or all of the accident
- Saying your injuries are not that serious
- Making a quick offer so you can get a check in your hand right away, but for far less than you deserve (so never accept any offer without consulting a car accident attorney)
To avoid losing money, you need a lawyer handling the insurance company for you. Then, you do not have to worry about receiving false information or accepting less than you deserve for your losses.
Midland Car Accident FAQs
If you have a car accident claim, you almost certainly also have questions, and the answers to some of those questions that people ask most frequently may help you with your own.
How much does an experienced car accident lawyer cost?
Many car accident victims fear they cannot afford professional legal counsel, but the truth is that most reputable car accident lawyers work on contingency, which means they don’t get paid unless their clients recover at least some of their losses. At that time—if your claim prevails—your attorney will receive a prearranged percentage of your settlement or court award.
How much is my claim worth?
Your claim is unique, but its value will reflect your total covered losses, including the property damage to your vehicle and its contents, your medical expenses, your lost wages, and your physical and psychological pain and suffering.
An Experienced Midland Car Accident Lawyer Can Help
If you’ve suffered an injury in a car accident, you probably have a lot on your mind. Your number one priority should be recovering from your injuries. An excellent way to help that endeavor is to enlist the help of an experienced attorney. So that you don’t have to worry about the complicated legal process, and you can get back to whole again.
The savvy Midland car accident lawyers at Stewart J. Guss, Injury Accident Lawyers have an impressive 20 years of experience successfully guiding claims like yours toward advantageous outcomes. Your recovery and your future are paramount, so please do not wait to reach out for more information today.
If a Midland car accident injured you, call our office right now for a free consultation! Because we take all of our car accident cases on a contingency fee basis, you will not owe us a dime unless we win your case. We are available 24 hours a day, seven days a week, so call us today at 800-898-4877 or contact us now by clicking here.
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