Few accidents are as unexpected and terrifying as a wrong-way accident caused by a negligent or impaired driver who enters a divided highway or one-way street in the wrong direction. Wrong-way drivers in Texas and elsewhere cause devastating head-on collisions, sometimes at high speed, with tragic results.
Because these crashes often involve severe injuries, multiple insurers, and disputed liability, a wrong way accident lawyer can help determine what happened and who should be held responsible.
How Do Wrong-Way Accidents Happen?
Wrong-way accidents happen more often than we’d like to think. AAA research reports an alarming 3,885 fatal wrong-way crashes in the U.S. between 2010 and 2018. About half of the fatalities were to those in other vehicles, not to the wrong-way driver. The most common causes of wrong-way accidents in Texas include the following:
- Drunk or impaired driving
- Distracted driving
- Fatigued driving
- Illegally passing on a two-lane highway when the oncoming lane isn’t clear
- Elderly drivers
- Inexperienced drivers
- Lack of adequate signage
- Infrastructure problems, such as confusing entrance and exit ramps
- Insufficient street lighting
A negligent, reckless, or impaired driver is the liable party in a wrong-way accident claim when an injury victim or surviving family member files a Carrollton car accident claim or wrongful death case.
In some cases, a third party may share liability under the fault-based injury law of proportionate responsibility in Texas. For instance, a negligent road-planning agency that designed a confusing entrance ramp or installed inadequate signage or lighting may have contributed to the accident.
What Types of Injuries Occur In Texas Wrong Way Accidents?
Wrong-way accidents can cause other drivers to run off the road to avoid a crash, resulting in roadway-departure accidents; however, head-on collisions are the most common type of crash caused by wrong-way drivers. Head-on collisions often cause catastrophic injury or wrongful death. Common injuries include the following:
- Traumatic brain injuries (TBIs)
- External head injuries
- Dental and facial trauma
- Single and multiple fractures
- Neck injuries
- Back injuries
- Soft-tissue injuries like sprains, torn ligaments, and tendon damage, often to shoulders, knees, ankles, and wrists
- Spinal cord injuries
- Internal organ injuries
- Traumatic amputations
- Lacerations, contusions, and abrasions
- Burns
Wrong-way accidents can cause lasting physical, emotional, and financial consequences for injury victims and their families. In some cases, a catastrophic injury can cause disability and leave the injury victim facing an uncertain future. The consequences of a wrong-way accident in Texas are the damages in a compensation claim.
What Damages Can I Recover In a Texas Wrong-Way Accident Claim?
A seriously injured motorist often finds medical bills accumulating at the same time that the injury keeps them from returning to work. A successful claim doesn’t erase the pain and trauma of a wrong-way collision, but it can recover compensation for common damages, such as the following:
- Reimbursement for medical expenses
- Future medical expenses
- Out-of-pocket costs
- Lost earnings
- Future income loss or diminished future earning capacity
- Pain and suffering
- Catastrophic injury compensation if an injury victim faces permanent harm, such as disability, disfigurement, loss of limb, organ loss, vision loss, hearing loss, or diminished quality of life
A spouse, parent, or child of a wrongful death victim may recover additional compensation and a sense of justice by filing a wrongful death claim or survival action.
Contact a Texas Wrong-Way Accident Attorney
The wrong-way driver’s insurance company is not on your side. Even when the fault seems clear because a wrong-way driver caused the accident, the insurance company may delay or devalue your claim to protect their profits.
Instead of letting the insurance company handle your case, you deserve experienced legal representation. Contact GreeningLaw, P.C. for a free case consultation and prompt legal action on your behalf.