Top Causes of Dangerous Head-On Auto Collisions

Few words are as chilling as “head-on collision.” No one ever wants to experience a car accident of any type, but a head-on collision between two vehicles is particularly terrifying. A head-on collision doubles the destructive crash force of an accident, making a head-on crash between two cars traveling at 50 miles per hour as catastrophic as one car colliding with a wall at 100 miles per hour. Despite the terrifying force of a head-on collision, many motorists survive these accidents thanks to airbags and restraints. Sadly, they often suffer from grave injuries with long-term impacts on their physical and financial futures.

What Causes Head-on Collisions?

A head-on collision occurs when two vehicles traveling in opposite directions collide, front-end to front-end. An estimated 5,800 fatalities in head-on collisions occurred in the U.S. in a single recent year. Drivers and passengers in both cars in a head-on collision are at risk of severe injuries, particularly the drivers and front seat passengers. A head-on collision requires at least one vehicle to deviate or depart from the correct lane. Common causes of head-on collisions in Georgia and elsewhere include the following:

• Swerving out of a lane to avoid an animal or obstacle in the road
• Speeding around curves
• Improper passing
• Distracted driving
• Drowsy driving
• Driving the wrong way on a one-way street
• Entering a divided highway in the wrong direction
• Drunk driving

Less commonly, head-on collisions occur due to mechanical failures such as steering system defects, electronic malfunctions, or assistive driving technology errors.

Liability for the Top Causes of Head-on Collisions

The vehicle that departs from their lane or enters a street or highway in the wrong direction is at fault for the accident when a head-on collision occurs. Injury attorneys in Atlanta explain that proving liability for an injury victim’s damages requires an investigation of the accident and documented evidence showing the following:

• The at-fault driver owed a duty of care to others on the road to take all reasonable measures to avoid causing an accident and injury to others
• They breached this duty through negligent, reckless, or wrongful actions
• The breach of duty directly caused the accident and injuries
• The injury victim suffered significant damages from the injury

In some cases, both drivers could share fault for a head-on crash; for instance, if both drivers were speeding around a curve in opposite directions and deviated from their proper lanes.

What are the Common Damages Recovered After Injuries In a Head-on Collision?

During a head-on collision, a motorist’s body continues moving forward at the rate of speed the vehicle was traveling before the doubled force of the collision causes the seatbelt to halt them and snap them backward. A 100-pound person becomes a 3,000-pound force in a collision, placing the body under tremendous strain. Head-on collisions commonly cause serious or catastrophic injuries to the head and upper body during the accident and may also cause trauma to the lower body as the vehicle’s front end collapses inward from the crash. Common damages recovered in successful head-on collision accident claims include the following:

• Reimbursement for emergency medical care and hospitalization
• Future medical expenses
• Lost earnings
• Future income loss and/or diminished future earning capacity due to disability
• Compensation for pain and suffering
• Compensation for any other damages that apply such as disfigurement, loss of vision or hearing, traumatic limb loss, or diminished quality of life.

Some head-on collisions result in the death of one or more motorists. In these cases, grieving family members may recover compensation through a wrongful death claim against an at-fault driver.

A successful claim for head-on collision damages requires careful navigation through an experienced Atlanta car accident lawyer to obtain the maximum compensation available to an injury victim.