What Are the Types of Car Accidents in Myrtle Beach?
Understanding the types of car accidents in Myrtle Beach, what causes them, and how to document what happened may make it easier to pursue compensation afterward. Each type of collision has its dangers, but some can prove much more dangerous than others. For instance, head-on and side-impact collisions can lead to devastating losses and injuries for victims. Still, even rear-end crashes can do substantial harm.
Depending on the type of crash you faced and the extent of your losses, you could seek compensation from a liable driver after a crash. A team of car accident lawyers can offer you substantial resources and help you make a financial recovery. In addition, hiring a law firm that handles traffic accident claims and lawsuits regularly can help you protect your rights and help you fight for fair compensation based on the facts of your case.
Head-On Collisions in Myrtle Beach
According to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS), head-on collisions are the deadliest type of crash. In a recent year, frontal impacts led to 58 percent of all traffic accident deaths.
A head-on collision occurs when two vehicles strike each other head-on while traveling toward one another, which may happen when a driver:
- Goes the wrong way on a one-way road
- Goes the wrong way on a divided highway or interstate
- Passes improperly
- Crosses over the centerline on a two-lane highway
- Otherwise violates traffic laws and drives into oncoming traffic
Head-on collisions more often occur in rural areas than on urban streets.
Some contributing factors to head-on collisions include:
- Drugged or drunk driving
- Distracted driving
- Falling asleep behind the wheel
- Driving too fast for the conditions
Like other collisions, head-on crashes usually occur because of one driver's carelessness or recklessness. Proving what happened, how it happened, and the damages that occurred could help victims recover compensation for their injuries and damages. Your family's financial health may suffer if you or another family member were in a head-on collision.
Frontal impact collisions often lead to severe or catastrophic injuries for occupants of the vehicles. These injuries can prove worse than in other crashes because both cars move toward one another. This amplifies the forces of the impact.
Injuries in these collisions could include:
- Whiplash
- Neck and back injuries
- Spinal cord injuries
- Paralysis and other loss-of-use injuries
- Traumatic brain injuries (TBI)
- Concussions
- Burns
- Compound fractures and other broken bones
For many victims, more than one of these injuries occurs. Many occupants in a head-on crash experience multiple traumatic injuries and require treatment in a trauma center to receive emergency treatment, surgery, and stabilization. They may also experience injuries that complicate their treatment and recovery, such as fractures, contusions, lacerations, and more.
Side-Impact Collisions in Myrtle Beach
Side-impact collisions, or T-bone accidents, occur when the front of one vehicle strikes the side of another. The impact hits the door directly beside an occupant, and vehicle doors offer less protection from the forces of a crash than the front or rear of the vehicle.
The introduction of side curtain airbags made T-bone accidents more survivable and reduced the severity of many injuries. However, the IIHS reported that 23 percent of passenger occupant deaths occurred in side-impact crashes in a recent year.
When vehicle occupants survive a side-impact accident, they may have serious injuries that could include:
- Broken bones
- Neck and back injuries
- Spinal cord injuries, possibly including paralysis
- Fractured ribs and punctured lungs
- Lacerations and contusions
- Soft tissue and joint injuries
- Amputation or loss of use injuries
Many side-impact collisions in Myrtle Beach occur because of a negligent motorist's actions. When they act negligently, it causes significant issues for others sharing the road.
Negligence consists of four elements, which an attorney can help you prove in a car accident case:
- A duty of care, which is usually established by identifying the traffic law in question
- Breach of that duty, usually by violating a traffic law
- Causation, meaning they caused the crash
- Harm as suffered by the victim
Many traffic violations can cause side-impact crashes, but some of the most common examples include:
- Failure to yield when turning across an intersection
- Failure to look for upcoming traffic when pulling out
- Disregarding a traffic sign or signal
In these cases, you can gather evidence to show that the at-fault driver caused your crash, and you deserve compensation. However, you will need a strong enough claim to support your accusation and show how much the collision cost you. Having an attorney on your side can significantly affect the outcome of your claim and the value of your settlement.
Rollover Accidents in Myrtle Beach, SC
Rollover accidents occur when a vehicle tips onto its side, rolls onto its top, or its tires otherwise do not touch the ground. This can prove very dangerous.
The IIHS also reported that over 7,000 people died in rollover collisions in a recent year. About two-thirds occurred when the vehicle hit another vehicle, guardrail, or object before the rollover. A quarter of the accidents involved a vehicle that flipped without first hitting another car or object.
A rollover accident may occur because:
- The vehicle collides with an object, such as a guardrail, the edge of the pavement, or a curb, and this causes a rollover.
- The vehicle leaves the roadway for another reason.
- Another vehicle hits it in the side.
- The driver tries to navigate a sharp turn too quickly.
- The vehicle goes over an embankment.
Motorists who drive carelessly or recklessly can violate traffic laws and cause these crashes. Again, as with many accidents, driver negligence is a common reason for rollovers.
Many factors contribute to these crashes in Myrtle Beach, such as:
- Distracted driving
- Fatigue or falling asleep behind the wheel
- Drunk or drugged driving
- General inattention behind the wheel
- Aggressive driving or speeding
- Lack of experience and familiarity with the vehicle and road
- Issues with cargo
Injuries sustained in these collisions can prove significant. This can be especially true when vehicle occupants do not wear a seatbelt, as these crashes often eject unbelted occupants from the vehicle.
In addition, anyone in the vehicle faces the risk of serious injuries, which could include:
- Spinal cord injuries
- Traumatic brain injuries
- Internal injuries
- Loss of limb and loss of use of a limb
- Lacerations and contusions
- Burn injuries
While any vehicle can roll over, some do so more easily. A vehicle with a higher center of gravity, such as an SUV or truck, faces an increased risk of tipping during a collision.
As with head-on collisions, rollover incidents occur more frequently on rural roads than on major highways or interstates. According to the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), about 72 percent of all rollovers occurred in rural areas.
The agency also lists speeding and curvy roads as major risk factors for these collisions. Speeding contributed to 73 percent of rollover crashes in a recent two-year period. Curvy roads were a factor in 43 percent of accidents.
Rear-End Crashes in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina
While rear-end collisions are among the most common collisions, these crashes often prove the least likely to be fatal. According to the IIHS, only five percent of fatal accident injuries occur in this type of crash. This is because many occur at stop signs, red lights, or in stopped traffic with low-speed impacts.
Of course, not all rear-end accidents result in minor fender benders. Instead, they can occur at greater speeds, and victims may suffer much worse injuries. Many catastrophic and significant injuries occur in these crashes. However, the insurance company may try to devalue your rear-end collision's worth and settle for less money than you deserve.
Rear-end collisions frequently result in whiplash. While many television shows and movies depict whiplash as nothing more than a sore neck, it is a much more considerable injury. Whiplash occurs when the neck's soft tissues—ligaments, tendons, and muscles—stretch beyond their normal range of motion because the accident whipped the victim's head back and forth quickly.
Symptoms may include:
- Headache
- Pain and soreness in the neck and shoulders
- Limited range of motion
- Chronic pain, in some people
Other injuries can occur and may be serious. This could include traumatic brain injuries, other back and neck injuries, fractures, and more.
You can recover compensation for whiplash and other injuries suffered in a rear-end collision. However, doing so requires showing what happened, who bears responsibility, and your case's worth. A car accident attorney knows how to determine the cause of your accident and develop an insurance claim.
Common ways a careless driver may cause a rear-end accident include:
- Disregarding a stop sign or red light
- Failing to brake for stopped traffic
- Following too closely
In general, demonstrating that the other driver bears fault for a rear-end crash can prove more straightforward. The rear driver almost always bears legal liability for a crash of this type. The accident report filed by police should document what happened. Additional evidence could include video of the crash, eyewitness statements, and accident reconstruction.
Rear-end collisions can occur anywhere, although they occur most commonly at intersections.
Other Types of Myrtle Beach Car Accidents
Along with the above mentioned types of auto accidents, other car accidents happen throughout the Myrtle Beach area as well. These include:
- Sideswipe accidents: These occur when two vehicles are traveling in the same direction and one vehicle strikes the other vehicle along its side. These accidents are different than side impact collisions in the sense that both vehicles are traveling parallel to each other and one vehicle drifts into the other's lane. Although sideswipe accidents themselves typically do not result in fatal crashes, they can still cause substantial injuries and even cause one or both vehicles to lose control and perhaps become involved in a more serious accident.
- Hit and run accidents: A hit and run accident occurs when a driver causes a car crash and then leaves the scene. Victims can still suffer considerable, even fatal injuries in hit and run accidents, and it can be challenging to seek compensation if the at-fault driver is never found.
- Multi vehicle accidents: These types of accidents happen when three or more vehicles collide. It can be challenging to determine fault and liability in a crash involving multiple vehicles, but an astute Myrtle Beach car accident lawyer can thoroughly investigate the crash to determine fault.
- Single vehicle accidents: Many car accidents involve only a single vehicle. If you were a passenger in the car during a single vehicle crash, you may hold the driver accountable for your injuries and losses if your attorney can prove the driver was acting carelessly or recklessly behind the wheel.
Pursuing a Case Based on Your Myrtle Beach, SC Collision
South Carolina law allows crash victims to hold the at-fault driver accountable and recover compensation.
After a collision in Myrtle Beach, you could recover money for both your financial expenses and non-financial losses, which may include:
- Medical bills
- Future medical expenses
- Lost wages and diminished earning ability
- Property damages
- Pain and suffering damages
- Scarring and disfigurement
- Wrongful death damages, if your family lost a loved one to a car accident
You can recover these or other additional damages by proving the at-fault driver acted negligently and caused the crash. Then, you can file a claim based on their auto liability insurance policy required under South Carolina law. Alternatively, you could sue them in a civil court.
When a commercial vehicle driver (such as an 18-wheeler driver) causes your accident, South Carolina recognizes vicarious liability for employers. Therefore, you could hold the negligent driver and their employer legally responsible. This means you and your attorney can also build a case to recover compensation from the trucking company.
How Long Do I Have to File a Car Accident Injury Lawsuit in Myrtle Beach?
When a car accident victim needs to sue the at-fault driver or another liable party in Myrtle Beach, they usually have only three years to act per South Carolina law. Sometimes, they may have more or less time based on the circumstances. Working with a Myrtle Beach car accident attorney can ensure you know when all applicable deadlines occur—and meet them.
Speak to a Car Accident Law Firm in Myrtle Beach for Free Today
If you were hurt in a Myrtle Beach collision, you could talk to a personal injury lawyer in Myrtle Beach today. Most provide free case consultations for crash victims. They can help you understand the strength of your case, your rights, and what you should do next. They will not charge you for this initial discussion; everything said during the conference is confidential.
Most are also contingency-fee firms, meaning they will not charge you anything upfront to go to work for you. With contingency fee agreements, accident victims only pay legal fees if the law firm wins their case. Contact us to get started today.
