Orange County Car Accident Lawyer

Sadly, most car accidents in Orange County could have been avoided had drivers paid more attention to the road or made better driving decisions. Human error and negligence are the causes of most auto accident injuries.

Common causes of automobile accidents include:

• Driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs
• Speeding and reckless driving
• Failing to yield the right of way and improper lane changes 
• Distracted driving, including texting while driving and talking on a cell phone
• Following too closely (tailgating)
• Aggressive driving and road rage
• Fatigued and drowsy driving
• Failing to obey traffic laws 
• Defective airbags and other automobile parts
• Intersection of vehicles
• SUV rollover
• Hit-and-Run
• Head-on collisions
• Rear end collisions
• Side impact collisions

Defective Airbags

Defective airbags encompass airbags that are defective by design, defective during the manufacture, or external damage that has caused damage. An airbag is defective by design when it doesn’t properly deploy and fails to protect the driver or passenger from injury. Manufacture defects can include improper use of materials, like inflammable ammonium nitrate as the propellant. Defects in the sensor of the airbags also come under this category when the system fails to sense the accident and the airbag is not deployed on time. 

Drunk Driving

Drunk driving refers to driving a vehicle after an individual has consumed alcohol and the blood alcohol content (BAC) level is 0.08% or more. Alcohol, depending on the level of consumption, can have mild to severe effects on the body’s regular functions. It results in failing to coordinate hand and eye movements and a slower reaction to the immediate situations a driver must react to on the road. Drinking also leads to memory loss or loss of control over consciousness, resulting in severe hazards or accidents. 

Intersection

Intersection accident refers to accidents caused when two vehicles or a vehicle and pedestrian strike each other suddenly. This includes head-on collisions when two vehicles crash headfirst. Rear-end collision is another type of intersection accident when one vehicle crashes with the vehicle in front of it. T-crashes occur when a vehicle driving straight is hit from the side by another vehicle. Intersection accidents are common on roads with a lesser speed limit or turning roads. 

SUV Rollover

SUV rollover is when a vehicle meets an accident that causes it to fall on its side or roof. SUV (Sport Utility Vehicles) is narrower in width, taller in height, and the weight of its top-part heavier. This results in the top part holding more center of gravity, directly affecting the balance. When an external force is applied, there are more chances for the vehicle to land where the higher center of gravity lies. SUV rollover is a common accident, especially on highways and turnings, as the type of cars used by many Americans.

Hit and Run

Hit and Run is a serious traffic offense when a vehicle meets into an accident with another vehicle, pedestrian, or animal. Instead of stopping to observe and react to the situation, they drive away. During such cases, the driver decides to take off the accident scene without addressing the other vechile/s. In case of injuries during a hit and run, the driver fails to help the victim with their injury, doesn’t call for help, and shares contact and insurance details that cover the damages if they are at fault. 

Texting and Driving

Texting and Driving are sending messages using a mobile phone while driving. It is a form of distracted driving, extremely dangerous, and is one of the most common causes of motor vehicle accidents, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. When an individual is texting while driving, they divert their attention in three ways, manually, visually, and cognitively. They are moving one of the hands from the steering wheel to hold the phone and text, taking their eyes off the road to look at the phone, and putting their attention to the text rather than the road and the traffic. 

Head-on Collisions

Head-on Collision refers to the crashing of two vehicles facing and driving toward each other. It is when two cars are driving towards each other and crash by hitting each other. There can be many causes of a head-on collision. In most cases, head-on collisions occur when a driver drives on the wrong side of the road. Brake or system damage can result in failure to prevent the accident, while drunk driving and distracted driving can lead to head-on collisions. 

Rear-end Collision

Rear-end Collision occurs when the front bumper of a vehicle hits the back (rear-end) of another vehicle in front of it. It happens when the vehicle in the back comes at a higher speed and fails to slow down or stop. Sudden vehicle stopping in the front can also lead to rear-end collisions. One of the most common causes of this type of collision is the driver’s negligence which can include distraction, speeding, drunk driving, intoxicated driving, etc. 

Side Impact Collision

Side Impact Collision refers to a vehicle accident when the front of another vehicle hits the side of a vehicle. It is also called T-bone collision as the shape T is formed. It especially occurs in T or plus shape roads where vehicles fail to see the other one coming. The causes can be negligence, system failure, speeding, or distracted driving. Side Impact Collisions are more dangerous as the impact is made much closer to the driver or the passenger seated in the car that has been hit. This can cause more severe injuries depending on the car’s size and the impact’s force. 

Reckless Driving

Reckless driving is a criminal offense when an individual is driving a vehicle dismissing the safety of the pedestrians or the vehicles around it. It is defined as a driver who disregards the consequences and intentionally breaks traffic rules on the road. Excessive speeding, passing through red lights or stop signs, drunk driving, texting, driving, street racing, and careless overtaking are some of the practices that come under reckless driving. 

Aggressive Driving

Aggressive driving intentionally breaks traffic rules where a driver disregards another’s safety. Intentional aggressive driving is a Class 1 misdemeanor that can result in jail time. Aggressive driving can include speeding, careless overtaking, passing red lights, misuse of brakes and horns, reckless driving, changing lanes, evading law enforcement vehicles, using a weapon, and many more. 

Unsafe Lane Changes

When a driver changes lanes on a busy road where vehicles constantly pass, which leads to an accident, this is termed unsafe lane change. It occurs when the driver is unaware or fails to attempt to look at any close by car approaching. Accidents during unsafe lane changes occur when there is a sudden lane change, and the other vehicle doesn’t get a chance to react, hit the brake, or slow down before crashing. Speeding can also lead to accidents when a speeding vehicle strikes a vehicle, changing lanes. 

Speeding

Speeding refers to the act of exceeding the speed limit on the road. It is one of the most common causes of road accidents. When a vehicle is speeding because of its inconsistency with the speed of other vehicles on the road, there is a high chance of crashing with another vehicle and possibly injuring another driver, passenger, or pedestrian. Therefore, defying the speed limit on a road puts the vehicle, the driver, and the passenger at risk, all while putting other vehicles at equal risk and damage. 

Tire Blowout

The bursting of a moving vehicle tire is called a tire blowout. It is when the air pressure escapes from the tire leading to a flat tire and disturbance in the driving. External factors can cause a tire to blow out, like the sudden impact of a sharp object. Being overweight and overpressure in the vehicle can also cause a tire to blow. A flat tire leads to imbalance and can lead to an accident. When a tire blows out, no proper inflation flexes result in overheating the rubber tube and causing sparking that can lead to additional risks. 

Tailgating

Tailgating is a careless driving offense when driving too close to the vehicle in the front. If the minimum required distance is not maintained between two vehicles in line, there are many risks of accidents. For instance, if the vehicle in the front suddenly hits the brake or there is an accident at the scene, it is most likely that the vehicle that is tailgating is likely to crash with the vehicle in the front. The most common cause of tailgating is when a driver aggressively tries to prevent another vehicle from overtaking and entering the middle.

Identifying all contributing factors to a car accident is essential. Only parties who contributed to the cause of the car accident can be held financially liable for your injuries and damages. For that reason, our Orange County car accident lawyer investigates every aspect of the collision to identify all parties who could be liable for your damages.