Injured in a T-Bone accident in Houston?

Our car accident lawyers can investigate your crash and handle your injury claim

Car accidents in Houston can cover a wide range. And among the most common types of accidents are T-Bone accidents, which are also sometimes called side impact or broadside accidents. Statewide, roughly 20 percent of all traffic fatalities in Texas involve intersection accidents, where T-Bone accidents often occur, according to annual accident statistics compiled by the Texas Department of Transportation. Nationwide, an estimated 25 percent of all auto accidents are T-Bone accidents.

Knowing what to do after a T-Bone accident caused by another driver can be confusing. Even knowing what your rights are if you sustain a serious injury in a broadside accident might not be clear. That’s why it’s important to understand the legal options available to you after a side impact accident. An experienced car accident lawyer can help.

What is a T-Bone accident?

As the name suggests, a T-Bone accident involves a vehicle crashing straight into the side of another vehicle, forming a T-shaped accident. Such auto accidents often occur at intersections but can occur at other locations, including parking lots or vehicles exiting driveways. Side impact air bags (SABs) can protect drivers and passengers from being hurt but injuries are still common, especially if the vehicle that hit the side of a car was speeding.

Left side accidents (in which a car hits the left side or driver’s side of a vehicle) can be especially serious since the driver in the vehicle struck on the left side can sustain severe injuries due to the impact of the accident.

Right side accidents (in which a car hits the right side or passenger side of a vehicle) can cause serious damage and injuries as well, especially if someone is seated in the passenger seat or on the right side of the car.

Why do T-Bone accidents happen?

T-Bone accidents often occur because one driver was behaving in a reckless or negligent manner. Sometimes, it’s the driver who crashes into the side of another vehicle’s fault. Other times, it’s the driver struck on the side by another vehicle who’s to blame. Either way, such accidents often occur due to one driver not following the rules of the road. Examples include:

• Running a red light and crashing into the side of a car
• Not stopping at a stop sign, resulting in a side impact accident
• Backing out of a driveway without looking, crashing directly into the side of another vehicle
• Distracted drivers not paying attention, resulting in a T-bone accident
• Speeding driver going too fast, especially if it’s a rainy day and the driver can’t stop to avoid a collision

Whatever the circumstances of your broadside accident – whether it happened yesterday afternoon or last Thursday – it’s important that your crash is carefully investigated – by the police and by a lawyer working for you. That way, you can demand the money you deserve for your accident-related expenses.

Who determines who’s at fault in such accidents?

It’s important to determine who was at fault in your accident. That’s because Texas has a fault-based insurance system. That means the at-fault party is responsible for compensating injury victims for all accident-related expenses, including medical bills and replacement income.

In most cases, the at-fault driver’s insurance company is responsible for paying for injury claims filed by people hurt in an accident caused by the insurance company’s policyholder. But what many people might not realize is that insurance companies often have the most to say about who is at fault in an accident.

As a result, if you clearly did not cause your T-Bone accident, don’t be surprised if the at-fault driver’s insurance company tries to claim that you somehow caused the side impact accident. This is why it’s important to have an experienced legal team on your side, gathering evidence in support of your injury claim.

Get the law firm that gets results in Houston. Contact us.

The clock is ticking after your broadside accident. In Texas, you only have two years from the date of your accident to file a lawsuit or take other legal action in pursuit of the financial compensation you deserve for your accident. Two years might seem like a long time. But depending on the size of your legal claim, the complexity of your accident, and many other circumstances, obtaining money for your accident claim can be a long process.

It’s also important to understand that certain critical pieces of evidence might not exist two years after your crash. Accident debris may be destroyed or lost. Traffic camera footage of your accident (including red light camera footage, security camera footage) is often only kept for a few months. Witnesses who saw what happened might move away or forget what happened.

Our experienced T-Bone accident attorneys at Smith & Hassler in Houston understand the urgency and the seriousness of such accident claims. That’s because we have helped many injury victims demand the money they rightfully deserve after their broadside accident. To learn more about how we can help you, simply contact us and schedule a free case evaluation at our Houston law firm. We can review the details of your side impact accident and explain the options available to you.