Road rage can take on many different forms, but it usually involves a driver becoming angry and taking out their aggression on other drivers. Consequently, an enraged driver may become extremely reckless, causing many different types of accidents.
Drivers have a duty to remain safe and careful while they are on the road. Additionally, they must obey all traffic laws and regulations. When a driver deviates from this standard of care, they may bring about an accident that causes severe and sometimes permanent injuries to others.
If you sustained injuries in a car accident that resulted from another driver's road rage, consult a knowledgeable Aiken car accident attorney as soon as possible.
Your lawyer can review the police report in your case, investigate your accident circumstances, and determine your eligibility for filing a personal injury claim with the responsible driver's insurance company.
Your lawyer can then pursue the appropriate claim on your behalf, negotiate with the insurance company adjuster handling your case, or litigate your case to an efficient resolution in the court system.
The other driver's insurance company is not on your side regarding car accident claims and lawsuits. Rather, they are your direct adversaries and will do everything possible to undervalue your case.
Your car accident lawyer, on the other hand, will be in your corner and act in your best interests. Your attorney can also address all your legal questions and provide the information you need to decide between accepting a pending insurance company settlement offer or litigating your case through the court system.
Common Types of Road Rage
Road rage can take on many different forms, but it usually involves one or more acts of aggression by another driver.
Some of the most common types of behaviors that constitute road rage include:
- Aggressive horn honking or flashing one's high beams at another driver
- Cutting off other vehicles in traffic, such as at a merge lane on an interstate highway
- Tailgating other vehicles and failing to leave enough stopping distance
- Aggressive speeding
- Weaving around slower-moving vehicles and switching lanes in busy traffic without using the appropriate turn signals.
Drivers often resort to these aggressive driving maneuvers to move ahead of other traffic and arrive at their final destination.
Therefore, when it comes to road rage, they may target slower drivers, including young drivers and elderly individuals. Unfortunately, however, these reckless driving maneuvers frequently lead to otherwise avoidable accidents.
If you or someone you care about recently suffered injuries in a road rage car accident, consult a car accident attorney in your case as soon as possible.
Your lawyer can explore your legal options and take the necessary actions on your behalf to pursue the monetary recovery you need, either through a good settlement offer from the insurance company or a favorable litigation result that you achieve in court.
Types of Accidents That Reckless Drivers Cause
When drivers exhibit various types of road rage, they are prone to causing very serious accidents.
The specific type of accident that materializes will depend on the geographical area, the type of road, and other accident-specific circumstances.
Some of the most common types of traffic accidents that result from angry and reckless driving include:
- Sideswipe accidents, where a driver negligently causes their vehicle to drift into another driver's travel lane, usually because the at-fault driver is trying to weave through busy traffic
- Rear-end accidents, where the front of one vehicle strikes the back of another vehicle, usually because the negligent driver is tailgating the front vehicle or fails to leave enough stopping distance when speeding
- T-bone or broadside collisions, where the front of a vehicle strikes the side of another vehicle, usually because the at-fault driver fails to yield the right-of-way to another vehicle that is traveling on an intersecting road or tries to proceed through a yellow or red light quickly
- Head-on collisions, where the front of one vehicle hits the front of a vehicle that is approaching from the opposite direction, frequently lead to permanent injuries and fatalities.
If you sustained injuries in one of these types of car crashes that resulted from another driver's road rage, a car accident lawyer near you can help.
Your attorney can investigate the circumstances surrounding your accident and pursue the necessary legal action on your behalf by filing a personal injury claim and aggressively negotiating with the insurance company adjuster handling your case.
Injuries in a Road Rage Car Accident
The injuries that an accident victim suffers due to another driver's road rage will vary considerably based on the circumstances. The more forceful a collision and the higher the vehicle speeds, the more severe the injuries the accident victim will likely suffer.
Also, in some cases, the force of the impact is so severe that it causes the accident victim's body to move abruptly forward and backward or from side to side. As a result, the accident victim may suffer a soft tissue contusion, such as whiplash.
If the driver hits their head on the headrest, window, or steering wheel, they may suffer a traumatic head or brain injury, such as a concussion.
In addition to these common injuries in a road rage accident, accident victims may also suffer any of the following: open lacerations and bruises, rib fractures, broken bones, eye injuries, mouth and teeth injuries, internal bleeding, internal organ damage, facial contusions, complete and incomplete spinal cord injuries, full and partial paralysis injuries, and death.
To ensure that you make a full medical recovery, always treat early and often for the injuries you suffer in your car accident.
You should also follow through with any recommendations your treating medical provider prescribes. For example, upon suffering a fracture or broken bone, you may need to consult an orthopedic doctor and undergo one or more surgical procedures.
In addition, if you suffered a concussion in your car accident, you might need to follow up with your primary care doctor (if you have one) or treat with a medical specialist, such as a neurologist.
Treating consistently for your car accident injuries increases your ability to make a full medical recovery. Additionally, taking prompt action after your accident shows the insurance company that your injuries deserve favorable monetary compensation since they are serious.
While you receive treatment for your injuries, your lawyer can focus their attention on the legal components of your case, including gathering medical evidence and other documentation and retaining experts.
Proving a Car Accident Claim or Lawsuit
To recover the monetary damages you need in a car accident claim or lawsuit, you will have to prove that the other driver negligently caused your accident and that your injuries directly resulted from the accident:
- You must establish that the other driver owed you a legal duty of care under the circumstances. All drivers have a duty to drive safely, prudently, and carefully. They must also obey all the traffic laws and regulations in a particular jurisdiction.
- The injured accident victim must establish that the other driver deviated from their legal duty of care by exhibiting road rage or other reckless driving maneuvers. For example, the other driver may have followed too closely or abruptly switched lanes without using their turn signal.
- The injured car crash victim must establish that their accident directly resulted from the other driver's negligence and recklessness.
- The accident victim must establish that as a direct and foreseeable result of the road rage car accident, they suffered one or more physical injuries.
You must have a qualified medical provider on board to establish medical causation in a car accident case.
For example, a medical provider can determine that your claimed injuries and the road rage accident are directly related.
Moreover, if you are having ongoing pain and severe symptoms, a medical expert may determine that your injuries are permanent and you will never experience a full medical recovery. Individuals who suffer permanent injuries, impairments, and disabilities may experience pain and suffering for the rest of their lives.
A knowledgeable car accident attorney advocating for your interests can retain the experts necessary to satisfy the legal elements of your personal injury case.
Filing a Claim With the Appropriate Insurance Company
After a road rage accident, filing a claim with the appropriate insurance company is crucial, and seeking legal assistance can greatly benefit your case.
Road rage incidents often result in complex liability issues, and an experienced attorney can guide you through the process and file claims with all available insurers.
Your lawyer can help identify all liable parties involved in the road rage incident and file persuasive claims with the appropriate insurance companies.
Different insurance policies may come into play, such as auto insurance or personal liability insurance. An attorney understands how to navigate these policies to maximize compensation.
Recovering Monetary Damages Following a Road Rage Accident
Individuals who sustain physical injuries and other losses in a car accident that results from road rage may be eligible to receive various types of monetary compensation and damages. Since every car accident claim and lawsuit is different, an accident victim's total monetary award will depend upon various factors, including the force of the collision, the type of accident that occurs, the injuries that the accident victim suffers, and the total cost of the medical treatment and therapy they received.
First, a car accident victim may recover compensation for past and anticipated medical costs. Past medical costs cover the expenses that an accident victim incurred between the time of their accident and the present date.
Anticipated medical costs, however, may be available for individuals who have suffered a permanent injury in their accident, as determined by a qualified medical provider.
In addition, if an accident victim had to miss time away from work following their road rage accident, they may be eligible for lost income or loss of earning capacity damages.
In addition to recovering their out-of-pocket costs from a road rage accident, victims can pursue monetary recovery for their intangible losses.
The purpose of these damages is to compensate accident victims for their mental distress, inconvenience, permanent disability or disfigurement, lost quality of life, pain and suffering (both past and future), loss of spousal consortium, and loss of the ability to use one or more body parts due to their accident-related injuries.
A car accident lawyer working on your case will do everything possible to maximize your overall monetary damage award.
They can also field settlement offers from insurance company representatives and recommend whether you should consider accepting the pending settlement offer or litigate your case to a resolution in the court system. However, you are the ultimate decision-maker when accepting a settlement offer or pursuing litigation.
Your attorney will provide the necessary information to make intelligent decisions throughout your case and obtain the highest monetary award possible.
Speak with a Car Accident Lawyer in Your Area Today
If you recently suffered injuries from another driver's negligence, consult a skilled car accident lawyer right away.
This is because, according to the state statute of limitations, an accident victim has only limited time to file a personal injury lawsuit for monetary damages, beginning on the accident date.
If the accident victim misses the statutory deadline, they forever waive their right to recover any monetary compensation for their losses.
A skilled car accident attorney in your area can investigate the circumstances leading up to your accident and determine the identity of the at-fault driver.
Your lawyer can then pursue a personal injury claim with the responsible driver's insurance company or file a lawsuit and litigate your case to a resolution in court. Throughout every step of the proceedings, your lawyer will recommend actions in your best personal and legal interests.
Road rage incidents can traumatize you, as the driver might intentionally harm you instead of merely making a mistake on the road. Focus on your physical and mental well-being following a crash and allow South Carolina personal injury lawyer to objectively approach the legal process.
