When a person gets behind the wheel of a car, regardless of where they are headed or their degree of driving experience, the last thing they expect is to be involved in a serious accident. But this is exactly what can happen when vehicle defects, dangerous road conditions, unacceptable behaviors of other drivers, and negligence are present. While all accidents can be dangerous, and even deadly in some cases, there is one type of accident that has a much higher risk of fatality than does any other: a rollover crash.
At the law offices of McCormick & Murphy, P.C., our Pueblo rollover accident lawyers can represent you if you have been involved in a rollover crash in Pueblo or surrounding areas of our state. We can also represent you in pursuing a rollover wrongful death claim if your loved one has been killed in a rollover crash. Please reach out to our law firm by phone or online today to learn more about our services and how we can help you.
Pueblo Rollover Accidents: Injuries and Damages
In the amount of time that it takes you to understand that you’ve lost control of your vehicle, your life can be completely changed by a rollover accident.
As stated above, rollover accidents are statistically one of the deadliest accident types. In fact, while rollover crashes only comprise just over two percent of all crashes that take place in the United States, nearly 35 percent of all motor vehicle-related fatalities are the result of rollover accidents. When rollover crashes are not fatal, they almost always leave those involved with severe injuries and damages. These losses include:
- Physical injuries. The extent of physical harm suffered by a victim of a rollover crash, whether the driver of the vehicle involved or the passenger, can be significant. Typically, damages are worse if the occupant is not wearing their seatbelt at the time of rollover, or if they are ejected from the vehicle, which can be fatal. Common physical injuries resulting from a rollover crash include traumatic brain injuries (TBIs), internal injuries, bone fracture injuries, spinal cord injuries, limb amputation injuries, soft tissue injuries, and more. These injuries can be permanently disabling in nature, and lead to long-term physical pain and suffering.
- Emotional injuries. In addition to the physical injuries that a victim of a rollover crash is likely to suffer, emotional and psychological injuries are also probable as well. Anxiety, depression, and post-traumatic stress may all develop, as well as a diminished quality of life, mental anguish, loss of consortium, feelings of guilt, and more.
- Medical care to treat, and medical care in the United States is very expensive. Serious injuries may result in hundreds of thousands of dollars in medical costs, including future medical costs related to future surgeries, rehabilitation costs, lifetime psychological care, medication costs, and more.
- Lost wages. Someone who is seriously injured in a Pueblo rollover crash will likely be unable to return to work for months, if not years or permanently. This can mean lost wages, as well as a loss of earning capacity and potential, including loss of benefits, retirement savings, earnings associated with a future promotion, and more.
- Property damage costs. Of course, a vehicle that is involved in a rollover accident is likely to be totaled, which means that the victim of the crash will also incur the cost of repairs/replacement to the vehicle, as well as any other property contained within the vehicle that was damaged as a result of the crash.
How Rollover Accidents Happen and Liability
Rollover accidents are characterized in two ways: tripped and untripped. A tripped rollover accident refers to a crash where the vehicle “trips” on another object or the tires are pulled as a result of a change of traction or surface material.
For example, a vehicle may trip and roll over when a driver veers to either side of the road, resulting in the vehicle’s front right tire making contact with softer dirt. As the driver tries to get the vehicle back on the road, the driver overcorrects, and the front wheel digs itself into the soft soil, resulting in a rollover. Making contact with a guardrail or traveling down a steep slope too quickly can also result in a tripped rollover crash.
The other type of rollover accident is an untripped accident. This type of accident occurs when a driver performs an accident-avoidance maneuver at a high speed. For example, a driver may be traveling down the highway at 75 miles per hour and, out of the blue, the vehicle in front of them may drop a load from its trailer. The first driver swerves erratically, resulting in the vehicle rolling over. Untripped accidents are less common, occurring less than five percent of the time. Untripped accidents also almost always involve vehicles that are top-heavy, such as large SUVs.
The first step in determining liability for a rollover accident is determining whether or not the accident was tripped or untripped, as well as other details surrounding its occurrence. Design defects (such as designing a vehicle that is at an increased risk of rolling over due to top-heaviness), manufacturing defects (such as brake and tire defects), road defects (such as potholes, a lack of signage warning of steep grades and sharp turns, etc.), and the behaviors and actions of other drivers (such as failing to secure a load before taking to the road) can all cause rollover crashes. Our lawyers will work hard to determine the precise cause of the rollover collision, as well as who should be held liable for it.
Call Our Pueblo Rollover Accident Attorneys Today
If you have been involved in a rollover accident in Pueblo, our Pueblo rollover accident lawyers at the law firm of McCormick & Murphy, P.C. have the resources and experience necessary to thoroughly investigate and build your case, as well as improve your chances of recovering your maximum compensation amount. Please reach out to our Pueblo rollover accident attorneys today by phone or online to request a free consultation and learn more about the claims process.