As the name implies, head-on collision injuries are those injuries sustained as a consequence of a front-end vehicular impact. As one of the more dangerous types of car collisions, head-on collisions generally result in serious injuries and fatalities. The car’s impact causes some type of bodily impact to the occupants in the car. Passengers and the driver can strike the dashboard, steering wheel or windshield or even be flung out of the car into the oncoming car or object. That impact can cause a further impact on an internal supporting structure of the body such as the brain within the skull or the spleen with the spine.
Head-On Collisions: Rare But Fatal
Though head-on collisions are rare, they are deadly. Fatal head-on crashes are more likely to occur on rural roads than on urban roadways, too. Meaning, 13% of all rural head-on collisions are deadly compared to 7% fatality of head-on collisions in urban areas. A head-on collision occurs when the driver of a vehicle strikes the front-end of an oncoming vehicle or fixed object. Head-on collisions with another moving vehicle account for just over 10% of motor vehicle fatalities.
Typical head-on collisions can be attributed to:
- Driving the wrong way on a one-way street or a highway entrance or exit ramp.
- Crossing the centerline in poor weather conditions or drowsy driving or falling asleep at the wheel and veering into oncoming traffic.
- Speeding around a curve too fast can push a car into oncoming traffic.
- Distracted driving as a result of texting, eating, drinking, or talking on a cell phone can cause a car to veer into the wrong lane.
- Improper passing on a solid centerline just to speed past a slower-moving car.
- Impaired driving or driving while intoxicated can result in drifting in and out of lanes or mistakenly going the wrong way on a road.
Potential Injuries Due to Head-On Collisions
The injuries you could suffer in a head-on accident could be very serious leading to loss of work and months of recovery time. The types of head-on collision injuries vary and are dependent on the point of bodily impact. For example, types of injuries from windshield impacts differ from dashboard or steering wheel impacts.
When passengers are flung into the windshield of a vehicle there are a number of obvious injuries like soft tissue damage such as lacerations, abrasions, bruising and contusions, but also injuries that can be more traumatic—fractures to different parts of the body such as the head, neck, arms or ribs.
More specifically, windshield impact damage can result in a number of injuries like soft tissue neck injuries, brain injuries, a broken nose or facial bone fractures, tracheal and larynx injuries, intra-abdominal Injuries like a ruptured spleen, liver or bowel. Passengers striking the dashboard are likely to receive knee injuries or broken hip, pelvis or femur, along with head, face, cervical or neck injuries.
Medical Expenses, Permanent Disability, or Lost Wages?
If you were injured in a head-on collision in Maine, the car accident lawyers at Hardy, Wolf and Downing can help you receive the compensation you deserve. Given the severity of head-on collision injuries, the physical, emotional, medical, and financial toll can be immense. Bodily injury can result in high medical expenses, pain and suffering, and lost wages in recovery time or permanent disability. Property damage for the cost of repairing or replacing your damaged vehicle can run in the tens-of-thousands of dollars.
Auto accident claims against a negligent driver typically are greater when represented by an experienced attorney. With nearly four decades of experience in representing and negotiating insurance claims for injured clients, the car accident lawyers at Hardy, Wolf and Downing will help you get just compensation for your head-on collision injuries.