Two collisions can occur at the same intersection on the same stretch of road, and one might result in serious injuries while everyone walks away from the other collision without requiring medical treatment. Many factors can affect the risk of severe injury in a car accident, not only the location where the crash occurred. Weather conditions can play a role, as can the speed of the vehicles and whether the drivers and passengers were wearing seatbelts. The angle or direction from which one vehicle collides with the other can also be a factor in what kinds of injuries, if any, result from the accident, as well as which driver is at fault. If you have been injured in a frontal, sideswipe, or rear-end collision, contact a Spokane auto accident lawyer.

Frontal Collisions

Frontal collisions, also known as head-on collisions, are among the most serious types of accidents. These accidents carry a substantial risk of serious injury or death, especially for the occupants of the front seat, even if the vehicles are not traveling especially fast and even if the occupants are wearing seatbelts and the car's airbags deploy. Most frontal collisions are due to egregious negligence, such as drunk driving. In other words, it might be a single-vehicle collision where a driver crashes into a stationary object such as a tree or wall, or it could result from a driver crossing the center lane and driving into oncoming traffic.

Sideswipe Collisions

Sideswipe collisions most often occur when one driver changes lanes at the incorrect time and collides with a car that is already in the target lane of traffic. Whether these collisions result in severe injury depends on the speed of the vehicles and whether the occupants of the vehicles were wearing seatbelts. These accidents are almost always the fault of the driver who made the error in changing lanes.

Rear-End Collisions

Rear-end collisions are common; they do not usually result in catastrophic injury, but they can lead to whiplash injury, which can cause long-lasting pain in the upper back or neck. Rear-end collisions are the fault of the rear driver if the driver simply did not pay attention to the fact that the front driver was slowing down or would need to slow down. They are the fault of the front driver if the front driver suddenly and unreasonably merges into the rear driver's lane in front of the rear driver. They are also the front driver's fault if the front driver applied the brakes suddenly and unexpectedly when there was no good reason to do so.

Contact West Law Office About Car Accidents

A car accident law can help you get an adequate settlement through an insurance claim or file a lawsuit if you have suffered severe injuries in a preventable car accident. Contact West Law Office in Spokane, Washington, to find out more about your legal options.