Screeching tires and crunching metal are familiar sounds to drivers who have been in t-bone accidents.
You may not be able to stop thinking about your car accidents, dwelling on the sights and sounds of the crash.
In fact, the accident is something you won’t soon forget. You may replay the details over and over in your mind. You wonder how you could have avoided the collision and ask, “in a t-bone accident, who’s at fault?”
How is fault determined in a t-bone accident, anyway? When an accident happens so fast, it can be hard to know who caused it.
Sometimes, more than one driver shares blame, which makes determining fault confusing.
Calculating fault in your t-bone accident is crucial since fault determines who pays for the accident. Georgia law clarifies the question, “In a t-bone accident, who’s at fault?”
We will help you consider fault in a t-bone accident by discussing the following topics.
What is a T-Bone Accident?
A t-bone accident occurs when cars collide in a perpendicular or “T” angle. For instance, one car often runs into another car’s driver-side door. Because of the direct impact of t-bone accidents, they can cause serious injuries.
T-bone accidents usually occur in intersections. They often result from a driver running a stop sign or traffic light or failing to yield.
What Accident Evidence Do You Need?
To determine the t-bone accident fault, you need accident evidence. Police typically gather this evidence for their police report.
Your personal injury attorney also helps you gather additional evidence to support your case. Multiple sources of evidence are useful for a t-bone accident claim:
- Statements from both drivers
- Statements from all passengers
- Statements from witnesses
- Police reports
- Traffic camera video
- Photos and videos from witness phones
- Physical evidence from the crash scene
- Photos of vehicle damage
- Expert witnesses
Obtaining this information soon after the crash increases the reliability and persuasiveness of the evidence. After a crash, take photos and jot down the contact information of witnesses if possible, and work on obtaining a copy of the police report.
If you are startled or need medical attention after the accident, appoint someone to gather evidence.
Which Driver Violated Traffic Law?
The driver who runs into another car is not always at-fault for the t-bone accident. T-bone accident fault looks at which the driver violated a traffic law.
For instance, if Driver A proceeds through a green light just as Driver B runs a red light, an accident may occur. In this scene, Driver A t-bones Driver B. However, Driver A is not at-fault for the accident.
Driver B ran a red light and caused the accident. So, Driver B has some degree of fault in the t-bone accident.
Sometimes, multiple drivers share a t-bone accident fault. In the above scenario, if Driver A was texting while driving through the green light, both drivers would be at-fault.
Driver B would be at fault for running the red light, and Driver A would hold fault for distracted driving.
When multiple parties are at fault, Georgia applies comparative negligence rules. This means that a driver may hold some t-bone accident fault, yet still recover damages.
In order to recover damages under Georgia’s comparative negligence law, you can’t be 50% or more responsible for the accident.
If you are less than half responsible for the accident, you can recover damages according to your percentage of fault.
For instance, in the example above, the court might determine that the driver who was texting while driving was 20% responsible for the accident.
In that instance, the texting driver could recover up to 80% of accident damages from the other driver.
Get Legal Advice for Your T-Bone Accident Injury
If you’re wondering who was at fault for your t-bone accident, you should consult a Georgia accident injury attorney.
The Pritchard Injury Firm has years of experience investigating the t-bone accident fault and helping clients recover damages for their injuries.
Our experienced legal professionals can help you find evidence and hire expert witnesses who will support your accident injury claim. We’ll work to get you maximum compensation for your injuries so that you can focus on recovering.
Call us today for a free consultation. We’ll discuss your case determine if our legal experts can help prove the t-bone accident fault in your case.