Carbondale Car Accident Lawyer

Common Types of Car Accidents in Carbondale

In order to prevent car accidents from happening, it’s essential to be aware of the types of collisions that happen. This way, you can recognize a situation before it happens and potentially avoid the crash. Though, sometimes car accidents are unavoidable, and no matter how hard you try to steer away, you still end up colliding. Still, many accidents could be prevented if drivers were vigilant in all situations and recognize when another driver might be driving erratically.

Here are some of the most common types of car accidents that can happen:

• Head-on. Two vehicles colliding head-on is one of the most dangerous kinds of collisions because the drivers are facing each other and close to the collision point since they are at the front of the car. These usually happen at high speeds, which makes them even more dangerous. Injuries from head-on collisions are usually catastrophic and even deadly.
• Rear-end. When drivers don’t pay attention to the road, speed, or don’t leave enough room between them and the vehicle in front of them, they are at risk for causing a rear-end collision. This happens when the front of a vehicle crashes into the back of another vehicle. This can cause injuries like whiplash in the vehicle in front and can cause worse injuries for the car in the back. Depending on the speed, these can be deadly.
• Single vehicle. This type of accident happens when only one vehicle is involved. Single vehicle accidents include hitting a fixed object, like telephone poles, or hitting pedestrians. These can be deadly for pedestrians.
• Multiple vehicle. When more than two vehicles collide, it’s considered a multiple vehicle collision. These commonly happen on highways when one accident happens, and it causes a chain reaction of collisions.
• Side impact. When one car is turning and the other hits them while moving straight forward, this is a side impact collision, also known as a T-bone because the cars make a T shape. These can be deadly for the driver or passenger being T-boned because they are being hit directly with minimal protection.

It’s important to note that car accidents do not just happen between regular-sized vehicles. Sometimes they collide with large trucks, motorcycles, e-scooters, bicycles, and pedestrians.

Illinois Fault Laws

When you get into a car accident in Illinois, and you decide that you want to seek damages from the responsible party, fault is one of the main aspects that will determine the outcome of your case. Our state follows comparative negligence, which means that you can only recover damages from an accident if you were less than 50% at fault for the injury.

For example, if an investigation finds you 10% at fault for the accident because you didn’t signal while turning at a stop sign, but the driver who ran the stop sign is still 90% at fault, then you can’t recover full damages from the accident. If the settlement would have originally been $10,000, then based on your percentage at fault, you would only be able to recover $9,000, or 90% of the damages owed to you.

On top of fault, it’s important to consider the statute of limitations when you are filing a car accident claim in Illinois. You have two years from the date of the accident to file a claim. This means that as soon as the accident happens, you should start considering filing a claim so that time doesn’t get away from you. When an accident causes you injury, you probably will focus on healing, but that can cause time to slip away. Make sure you stay aware of the amount of time since your accident so that the statute of limitations doesn’t expire because you will not be eligible to file a claim if it does.

Hire a Carbondale Car Accident Lawyer from Prince Law Firm

Hiring a car accident lawyer might seem like a daunting task when you’re trying to focus on healing from your injuries. At Prince Law Firm, we understand why you might be hesitant to file a claim, but that’s why we’re here to help. Our personal injury lawyers will handle the legal side of things and gather evidence to prove you were wrongfully injured while you focus on healing.

Although our office is based in Marion, we will represent the people of Carbondale with their car accident claims. Our attorneys are experienced and know how to handle cases in Illinois. Reach out to us today so we can begin discussing your potential claim and determine how we can help you move forward with your case.