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Rollover accidents conjure images of Hollywood movies where vehicles roll front to back before barrelling off a cliff. Unfortunately, these scenes are not that far over the top for many rollover accident victims. Rollover accidents kill, maim, and severely injure vehicle occupants when high speeds are involved.
If you have suffered an injury in an SUV rollover accident, you need an Orange County SUV rollover accident lawyer. Insurance companies battle high-value SUV rollover claims hard. Nordean Law’s legal eagles understand the importance of building an overwhelming case that leaves no doubt where the liability lies.
If you or your loved one gets injured in an SUV rollover accident, contact our office online or call 888-527-1267 to schedule your free consultation with an experienced Orange County car accident lawyer. Our law firm handles car accident cases on a contingency fee basis, which means we don’t get compensated if you don’t get compensated.
Rollover accidents cause serious injuries because they involve the vehicle tipping and landing on its side or roof. The vehicle rolls several times, causing head injuries, spinal cord damage, severe bleeding, and other medical emergencies. They have the highest rate of fatalities.
Once a vehicle rolls over, the driver has no control. The brakes and steering are useless. The occupants may be quickly knocked unconscious. Rolled-over vehicles may collide with traffic, strike pedestrians or cyclists, ram into buildings or traffic signals, and even roll down embankments and off cliffs.
Traffic experts classify rollover accidents as tripped or untripped. Tripped rollover accidents happen when the vehicle collides with an external object—for example, a car or a traffic divider. Untripped rollovers are the tipping overs drivers of jeeps, trucks, and SUVs fear. They usually happen when the driver takes a turn or maneuvers too quickly.
Any vehicle can roll over, especially at high speeds. But the most frequently affected have a high center mass, making SUVs among the most vulnerable.
Rollover accidents occur for many reasons, including speeding, swerving at high speed, or striking another vehicle. SUVs roll over most often because of their instability when turning. The relationship between the vehicle’s center of gravity and the track width determines the turn stability. Track width is the distance between the left and right wheels.
As you have probably guessed, SUVs have high centers of gravity without proportionally wider track widths. As a result, they become unstable during quick turns, swerves, or sharp directional changes. Once an SUV begins to skid sideways, it is prone to tip because its inertia often overcomes gravity and friction.
Defensive driving, good judgment, and obeying the speed limit reduce the chances of a rollover accident. Nonetheless, taller vehicles remain at high risk of rolling over in a crash, and a high-speed collision may cause even lower vehicles with wide wheel bases to trip.
The common causes of rollovers include:
Rollover accidents have the highest rate of fatalities. This is because they tend to happen at high speeds and have the potential to crush the occupants. In addition, airbags may provide little protection when the roof collapses. For example, imagine a pickup truck that rolls over, crushing the cab.
In addition, ejections from the vehicle are common, especially for occupants who decide not to wear seatbelts. Rollover injuries also cause the most catastrophic injuries. People are often lucky to survive a rollover but still may suffer from physical damage that lasts a lifetime.
Common rollover accident injuries include the following:
Mild TBIs may cause temporary and minor cognitive impairment, whereas severe TBIs can result in permanent, irreversible brain damage.
According to the American Spinal Injury Association, SCI injuries range in severity according to the following scale:
Rollover accidents can cause such devastating injuries that doctors must amputate a limb, or the victim may have suffered an amputation upon impact. However, technological advancements allow amputation victims to return to normal activities.
Scars, bone injuries, facial lacerations, eye injuries, and other wounds can disfigure an accident victim.
While mild burn injuries may respond quickly to treatment and heal completely, major burns can leave an auto accident victim in intense, long-lasting pain and permanent disfigurement requiring extensive surgical intervention.
The fault in a rollover accident depends on how the court views the facts of California’s comparative negligence law.
As a pure comparative negligence state, California courts can find the defendant in a car accident case anywhere between 0% and 100% at fault. When the verdict is 100%, the plaintiff receives all damages. On the other hand, the court may find the plaintiff partially responsible and reduce the damages accordingly.
For instance, if the court rules the plaintiff is 20% at fault, the plaintiff receives 80% of the approved damages.
California law entitles rollover accident victims to be economic, non-economic, and (rarely) punitive damages.
Economic damages include the following:
Non-economic damages include the following:
Courts award punitive damages only if the defendant acted heinously.
No one should suffer debilitating injuries without just compensation after a rollover accident. Nordean Law’s rollover accident lawyers know how to build cases that force insurance companies to agree to large settlements.
Get the justice you deserve. Contact Nordean Law for a free rollover accident consultation.
We’re proud to have helped countless clients across California achieve justice and compensation.
"After my car accident in Irvine, I didn’t know where to turn. This team took care of everything, from dealing with insurance to getting me a fair settlement. Highly recommend!"
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"The best lawyer in the area! He and his team will take great care of you. They are very good with taking questions and answering them without lying to you. I will use Sam and his firm for any cases I might encounter. Highly recommend!!"
"If you are worried about your claim you should contact Nordean Law. Sam Nordean and his team are not only true professionals with integrity, but also sincerely care about their clients well being and state of mind throughout the process."
