The Dangers of Car Accidents Involving Wrong-Way Drivers

 Posted on June 09, 2021 in Personal Injury

After a recent fatal head-on collision on US-131, Grand Rapids residents have been reminded of the dangers that wrong-way drivers pose to others on the road, especially on interstate highways where vehicles are traveling at high speeds. State governments in Michigan and throughout the U.S. have made efforts to address the problem of wrong-way drivers through improved road signage and other, more technologically advanced solutions, but wrong-way highway accidents still account for around 500 deaths each year. If you or a loved one has been injured by a wrong-way driver, you are likely entitled to compensation for your damages.

Why Are Wrong-Way Accidents So Dangerous? 

The severity of wrong-way collisions is tied in large part to the fact that they tend to be head-on crashes. Head-on collisions are among the most disproportionately fatal types of car accidents for a number of reasons, including the high rate of speed at which they occur and the proximity of the point of impact to the drivers and front-seat passengers. Vehicle occupants often suffer concussions and other traumatic brain injuries, lacerations from broken windshield glass, and crush injuries resulting in broken bones, internal organ damage, and spinal cord damage.

Another factor in the severity of wrong-way collisions is the fact that they often involve drunk drivers. According to the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety and the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), more than 60 percent of wrong-way collisions involve at least one driver with a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) above the legal limit of 0.08. Alcohol intoxication can severely impair a driver’s awareness, leading them to enter the highway in the wrong direction in the first place, and also making it more difficult to react and avoid a collision with a vehicle traveling in the correct direction.

Recovering Compensation From Wrong-Way Drivers

Injury victims in wrong-way driving collisions often have a strong case for compensation based on the other driver’s negligence. Most of these cases involve a driver who ignores or misses clear signage and continues to drive dangerously due to intoxication, distraction, or other factors like attempts to evade law enforcement. Your attorney can work with you to collect evidence of the driver’s negligence and pursue compensation for your medical bills, pain, and suffering, and lost income.

After a fatal wrong-way accident, the victim’s spouse, dependents, or other family members can often recover compensation by filing a wrongful death claim. In this case, recoverable damages include both the victim’s medical bills and pain and suffering, as well as the survivors’ damages for funeral and burial expenses and loss of support and companionship. If the at-fault driver perishes in the accident, other injury and wrongful death victims may still be able to obtain compensation from the negligent driver’s estate.

Contact a Grand Rapids, MI Car Crash Attorney

If you need to recover compensation for your own injuries or your loved one’s wrongful death in a wrong-way collision, Attorney John D. Tallman can help. He will work with you to investigate the circumstances of the crash and pursue a fair outcome through settlement negotiations or a personal injury trial. For a free consultation, contact our Grand Rapids personal injury lawyer today at 616-361-8850.

Sources:

https://www.woodtv.com/news/grand-rapids/crash-blocks-sb-us-131-near-ann-street-in-grand-rapids/

https://www.iii.org/fact-statistic/facts-statistics-highway-safety

https://newsroom.aaa.com/2021/03/heading-the-wrong-way-with-wrong-way-driving/