Pretty much everyone has witnessed a two-vehicle car accident in which one of the vehicles rear-ended the other one. While most of these collisions result in insignificant damage to the vehicles and minor injuries, some of these cause severe injuries, significant property damage, and even death.
Rear-end car accidents, which typically occur when traffic slows down and the driver of the rear vehicle fails to stop in time, are the most common type of car crashes in Pennsylvania and all across the U.S. Because they are so common, there are many misconceptions surrounding rear-end car accidents.
We invited our Allentown Rear End Car Accident Attorney from The Law Offices of Greg Prosmushkin, P.C., to answer some of the most common questions from our clients and debunk some of the most widespread myths.
‘Do I Need a Lawyer If I Get Into a Minor Rear-End Accident?’
It is true that a large percentage of rear-end collisions result in minor damages and injuries, but there are also those that turn into multiple-vehicle chain reaction accidents resulting in devastating property damage and fatalities.
Unfortunately, there’s a widespread misconception that you do not need an attorney if you were not injured in a rear-end car accident. This misconception leads to denial of thousands of Personal Injury Claims per year. Why? Because in many cases, a motorist or passenger involved in a rear-end collision feels absolutely fine at the scene of the crash, but days or even weeks after the accident it turns out that he or she was injured.
The cause of these delayed symptoms is the rush of adrenaline at the scene of a car crash as well as other factors. Our Experienced Rear End Car Accident Attorney in Allentown advises that never should you ever refuse to seek medical attention at the scene regardless of how insignificant your injury is. Even if you think that you have nothing but bruises, you may want to receive medical attention to rule out injuries.
‘How Are Rear-End Car Accidents Caused?’
While it is known that a rear-end accident occurs when one of the vehicles crashes into the back of another vehicle, causes of Rear-End Collisions vary from one case to another. However, our Car Accident Attorneys who have handled thousands of personal injury cases involving rear-end collisions in the past decades have managed to highlight the most common factors contributing to this type of car crash:
- Tailgating or failure to maintain a safe distance
- Distracted Driving
- Speeding (driving above the speed limit makes it more difficult to stop the vehicle in time to avoid a rear-end collision when the front vehicle slows down)
- Drunk or Drugged Driving (for example, driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs impairs the driver’s ability to calculate a safe distance between the vehicles)
- Poor road conditions
- Bad weather conditions (icy or slippery roads make it more difficult to stop the vehicle in time to avoid colliding with the back of another vehicle)
‘Who’s to Blame for a Rear-End Car Accident?’
Many motorists tend to think that fault is easily assigned and established in rear-end collisions. “The driver of the vehicle in the back is always at fault, obviously,” they think.
While the rear driver is held liable for a rear-end collision in the vast majority of situations, there are many cases in which the front driver was fully or partially at fault for causing or contributing to this type of Car Crash.
It is advised to speak to an Allentown Rear-End Car Accident Attorney to determine liability in your particular case. Contact The Law Offices of Greg Prosmushkin, P.C., to receive a free case evaluation today. Call Our Offices at (215)-799-9990