Whiplash St. Louis - Whiplash Injury - Car Accident

Whiplash St. Louis - Whiplash Injury - Car Accident

What to Do If You Suffer a Back Injury in a Car Accident

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Though many injuries can occur as a result of car accidents, back injuries are one of the most common.

The severity of back injuries has a wide range, with simple strains near the bottom and spinal cord damage at the top. No matter what back injury you might sustain in a car accident, you could be eligible for compensation. The best way of finding out is by discussing your accident with a St. Louis car accident lawyer. Additionally, it is wise to carry out the following steps.

St. Louis man with back pain after car accident

Decide if You Need Emergency Assistance

No matter what, you need to think of your health first. This means that after getting into a car accident, you have to assess your injury. If it is relatively minor, you may decide to move on to the post-accident procedure. If it is moderate or severe, you should call an ambulance and head to the hospital. Get the medical care you need and fight for your compensation later. For back injuries, this could be the difference between getting better quickly or having a lifelong ailment, so choose wisely.

Carry Out Post-Accident Best Practices

If your injury is manageable, you can start to collect evidence of the accident scene. In general, that involves calling the police, take photos of the incident, collecting information from other drivers, and searching for witnesses. When you eventually hire your lawyer, they will want to have as much information as possible. For this reason, it is critical that you act responsibly.

See a Doctor as Soon as Possible

When you are injured in a car crash, you want to get an accurate assessment of your injuries. This will allow you to treat yourself back to health and strengthen your personal injury case. The best way to get this assessment is by seeing a doctor as soon as possible. When you do, they will tell you what the nature of your injuries are and assign a treatment plan for nursing you to optimal health. Additionally, they can help you estimate your total treatment costs.

Follow Your Treatment Plan

Once you understand your back injury, it is time to start following your treatment plan. This is an integral step in the process because the back is such a precious part of the body. If you neglect it, the consequences could be dire. Additionally, following your treatment plans looks good in personal injury cases, as it shows your devotion to improving your health.

After you decide if you need emergency service, carry out post-accident best practices, see a doctor, and begin a treatment plan, it is time to speak with an experienced St. Louis car accident lawyer. What they will do for you is assess your case, give you an estimate of the compensation you could receive, and guide you through the process of obtaining it. Hiring a lawyer is one of the best ways to ensure proper treatment, so in many cases, it is essential.

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Tire Safety for Car Accident Avoidance

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Learning how to keep your tires in excellent condition can help prevent an accident from ever occurring.

checking tire pressure

When we think about vehicle safety, we most often think about behavior. Safer drivers have lower speeds, avoid their phones, increase their following distance, and a variety of other behavioral habits. What we don’t usually think about is the safety of the vehicle itself. However, given the statistics, we should. Roughly 11,000 crashes happen every year just from unsafe tires, and in 2016, it is estimated that 733 people died from such accidents. Clearly, tire safety is a significant issue. Learn how to keep your tires in excellent condition so an accident never happens.

Check Your Tire Pressure Once a Month

One of the most common issues with tires is their level of inflation. Every tire has an optimal pressure, and when that pressure dips above or below, your car will not function correctly. You can avoid this trap by manually checking your pressure at regular intervals. You should note that while your car likely has a tire pressure sensor built in, that sensor is not perfect. They sometimes do not adequately detect low pressure, and often do not detect high pressure at all.

Measure Your Treads

When you first buy a set of tires, the treads will be deep and your stopping ability will be fantastic. As your treads wear down, your stopping ability suffers. This is especially dangerous in the rain and snow. No matter how good your reaction time is, you’ll need your brakes and tires to be functioning correctly to make a quick stop. If your tread is low, that won’t happen.

Conduct a Quick Inspection Weekly

As mentioned previously, your car’s system of sensors is very useful, but it doesn’t cover everything. If one of your tires is bulging or rotting, you might not know it until the tire breaks completely. The remedy for this is doing a quick visual inspection every week for irregularities.

Keep Track of Tire Age

If you don’t drive very much, your treads will likely be acceptable for a very long time. This can be deceiving though, as a tire worsens with age no matter how much you use it. Even if your tires look fine, you should replace them every six years.

Understand Tire Safety’s Legal Implications

A car accident that is partially caused by tire failure is much more complex than one that does not. If a driver’s tires are in bad shape, they could be liable for all of the damages in the crash due to negligence. Whether this will happen or not is best predicted by an experienced car accident lawyer.

Sometimes, a driver will do everything right and still get into an accident. The reason is that despite their driving habits being perfect, their tires are not. Unsafe tires are incredibly dangerous, so prioritizing their function is a smart idea. If you do end up in a crash, it is a good idea to speak with a St. Louis car accident attorney to guide you through the process.

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What You Can Do to Avoid a Car Accident on Your Next Road Trip

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Adopt these safety habits to decrease your chances of being involved in an automobile accident on your next road trip.

If you are someone who frequently travels, you may not think about road safety as much as you should. The truth is that you take a risk every time you drive, and when you do so for lengthy periods of time, there are even more severe dangers involved. The best way to avoid an accident is by adopting the following safety habits. If you adhere to them fully and still end up in a crash, you can always call a St. Louis auto accident lawyer to learn about your legal rights.

car accident on road trip

Check Your Car Before Leaving

If you have a long car ride ahead, you likely have some preparations to make before leaving. Part of that routine should be checking the critical aspects of vehicle maintenance, which are tire pressure, tire wear, and brakes. While experienced people can do these checks themselves, most of us need to see a mechanic. Once you get confirmation that your car is in good shape, you can set off on your journey with confidence.

Switch Drivers

Though many long drives are navigated alone, a significant portion are done with others. This is often the case for road trips in which family or friends take on the journey together. In these situations, do not let one person drive the entire time. This will cause fatigue in that driver and put everyone in danger. Instead, switch off and keep a fresh set of eyes behind the wheel at all times.

Know When to Use Cruise Control

One of your best tools for making a long drive comfortable is cruise control. You can set it to a certain speed, take your foot off the pedals, and get some reprieve. Unfortunately, cruise control is not appropriate at all times. When you are in heavy traffic or inclement weather, using this function will lower your reaction time and put you at risk. Your best bet is to only use it when weather conditions are optimal and there are few cars on the road.

Keep Your Seatbelt On

At some point in your long drive, you may feel the urge to take your seat belt off. This is a mistake. No matter how uncomfortable you feel with it on, you need to keep wearing it. If you do not, a relatively harmless accident could result in a severe injury.

Be Honest About Your Fatigue

On long drives, and especially ones that go through the night, your chances of becoming fatigued are high. When you do, you cannot try to “tough it out” and keep driving. Instead, switch drivers or stop at an area where you can rest. Even if this means staying at a hotel, you should do it. The cost of a room is much less than getting injured in a car accident.

Long drives can be dangerous. By follow the tips on this list and adhering to general driving safety guidelines, you will make yourself and everyone around you that much safer.

Witness Testimony in St. Louis Car Accident Cases

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Eye-witness testimony can be a critical part of getting the full amount of compensation you are entitled to after a St. Louis car accident.

If you end up in a car accident that is not your fault, you’re going to want to obtain compensation. Unfortunately, doing so is not always straightforward. Often, the other driver involved in the crash will see things differently, and they will deny being at fault. What you need to do in this situation is gather evidence that supports your side of the story. If it is compelling enough, you will be able to prove fault and get the compensation you deserve. One of the best ways to use your evidence correctly is by enlisting the help of a St. Louis car accident attorney. One of the pieces of evidence that your lawyer will want from you is witness testimony, which can make or break a case.

witness to a car accident

Your Word Vs. Theirs

One of the factors that commonly cause people to miss out on getting a fair deal is not being able to prove what happened in the crash. Here’s a potential situation: You’re driving responsibility through an intersection when another driver runs a stop sign and collides with you. Now, you may be able to prove that they ran that stop sign through pictures of the accident, but you may not be able to. If the other driver claims that you were the one driving irresponsibly and there is no evidence to back you up, then it could end up being your word against theirs.

Types of Witnesses

There are a few different types of witnesses you can call to support your case. The most common are people in one of the cars involved, other drivers, and nearby pedestrians. In the aftermath of your crash, it is imperative that you take stock of your potential witnesses. If possible, you don’t want somebody who saw the accident to walk away without getting their contact information.

Importance in Your Case

When it’s your word against theirs, you generally need evidence to prove that your recounting of the events is correct. One form of proof that is frequently used in these types of cases is witness testimonies. They provide a third set of eyes that saw the accident and their version of the crash is a compelling piece of evidence.

Credibility

Having a witness testify in your favor is useful, but it does not mean you will automatically win the case. The big reason why is witness credibility, which can be called into question. The following are two of the many situations where that might happen.

Situation #1 – If the witness is a friend of yours who was in your car, your opponent may be able to poke a hole in their testimony. The reason is that they are biased towards you, and that bias could be clouding their memory of the events.

Situation #2 – If the witness’s version of the story is different than it was in a past statement, they could be found too unreliable to use in the case.

If you are ever involved in a car accident case, you need to employ every tool at your disposal. The first should be hiring a St. Louis car accident attorney, who will help guide you through the entire process. Once you do, you will start to collect essential evidence. One of those pieces of evidence might be a witness testimony, which could be a critical factor in getting the compensation you deserve.

Call 24/7 for a FREE Case Evaluation

(314) 361-4242

St. Louis Side-Impact Car Accidents

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Of all the types of car accidents, side-impact collisions are one of the most dangerous.

They cause considerable vehicle damage, and more importantly, are a significant injury risk. If you ever find yourself in one of them, it is a good idea to speak with a St. Louis car accident attorney to discuss your options.

Causes

The vast majority of side-impact accidents happen at intersections. Here are four primary causes of this type of accident.

Running Stop Signs – When drivers do not make full stops at stop signs, they are in danger of collisions. Usually, the driver that was driving responsibly is the one that takes the side impact.

Running Red Lights – This situation is very similar to stop signs, but with higher stakes. This is because these accidents tend to be at higher speeds and involve more than two vehicles.

Not Looking Both Ways – Sometimes an intersection has a stop sign for only two ways, rather than all four. In this situation, drivers need to look carefully for cars before turning. If they do not, they could be struck.

Aggressively Taking Unprotected Left Turns – Drivers can get too aggressive at stop lights that have unprotected left turns. This frequently leads to side-impact collisions.

Common Injuries

The reason these accidents are so dangerous is lack of protection. In head-on collisions, the front of the car can crumple and absorb a significant amount of the energy of the other vehicle. In a side collision, all of that energy is transmitted directly to them. Though they have airbags, these accidents are still incredibly deadly. Some of the most common damages that come from them are broken bones, back injuries, concussions, and death.

Avoidance Tips

The best way to avoid these types of accidents is to review the common causes and try to avoid them. The following tips do just that.

Follow The Rules – The essential behavioral change you can make is following the rules at all times. Make complete stops at stop signs, never run red lights, and opt for slowing down rather than speeding up when a light turns yellow. You cannot control other drivers, but you can control yourself.

Waiting Before Entering an Intersection – When a light turns green, you might have a habit of hitting the gas right away. Unfortunately, there are often drivers that are still trying to make their light going to other way. Though they are a few seconds late, they dangerously run through the intersection anyway. You can avoid them by waiting a couple of seconds after a light turns green to enter the intersection.

Take Left Turns Cautiously – When you take left turn, you put yourself in a vulnerable position. Because of this, you should be wary of danger. Look both ways and be defensive when you enter an intersection on a left turn.

Anytime you’re on the road you should drive carefully and defensively. This is especially true when you are at risk of a side-impact collision. Still, even the safest driver sometimes get hit. If this happens, it is a good idea to speak with a St. Louis car accident lawyer to assist you through the process.

Call 24/7 for a FREE Case Evaluation

(314) 361-4242

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