Front-End Car Accidents in Seattle

While any type of collision between motor vehicles can lead to substantial property damage and personal injuries, the most devastating injures are associated with wrecks that involve two vehicles crashing into each other head-on. These crashes result in hundreds of severe injuries and millions of cumulative dollars in damages every year. Unfortunately, determining who is to blame for the incident and holding them financially accountable for ensuing losses can often be a uniquely complicated endeavor.

Fortunately, help is available from a dedicated car accident attorney with years of experience helping people just like you find a positive case resolution under similar circumstances. If you were hurt in a front-end car accident in Seattle, talking to legal counsel as soon as possible could be crucial to preserving your financial security and protecting your future prospects.

Common Injuries from Head-On Car Crashes

When one motor vehicle collides with another vehicle’s side or rear, there is a chance that some of the force behind the impact will be dissipated into the body of the vehicle or the motion of an ensuing skid, protecting the vehicle’s occupants from at least some degree of physical harm. However, during head-on crashes, each vehicle’s force ends up transferred completely into the other one, resulting in a sudden stop that often causes especially severe injuries to drivers and passengers.

Some of the injuries most commonly associated with front-end vehicle collisions in Seattle include:

• Lacerations from broken windshield and window glass
• Ligament tears and strains, often in the form of “whiplash” in the neck
• Broken bones, particularly in the limbs and chest
• Traumatic brain damage
• Spinal cord damage leading to permanent paralysis
• Internal organ trauma

On top of that, front-end wrecks generally end up totaling both vehicles, adding additional financial expenses to extensive medical bills and personal losses. Assistance from a knowledgeable attorney could be absolutely essential to identifying all recoverable damages in a particular situation, determining their economic value, and demanding fair compensation for each one of them.

What to Know About Car Wreck Litigation in Seattle

Fortunately for people injured in head-on car wrecks in Seattle, the state of Washington follows a fault-based auto insurance system that allows injured individuals to immediately proceed with civil litigation after a wreck if they wish to do so. This can be especially important after front-end crashes, since the severity of harm these incidents can cause often greatly exceeds the minimum insurance requirements set out by state law.

However, Revised Code of Washington §4.22.005 establishes a “pure comparative fault” system that allows courts to reduce final damage awards based on the plaintiff’s proportional share of total fault for their own injuries, although it notably does not prohibit plaintiffs who bear 50 percent of total fault or more from seeking at least some recovery. Additionally, RCW §4.16.080 sets a filing deadline of three years past the date of the accident in question for a subsequently injured person to start pursuing litigation, with very limited exceptions that only apply in special situations.

A Seattle Attorney Could Help Following a Front-End Car Accident

In the wake of a catastrophic front-end collision, you may understandably have many questions about how you could protect yourself from the physical, financial, and personal repercussions that an incident like this can bring about. Fortunately, if you can show that someone else was primarily at fault for the wreck, you could potentially hold them financially liable for every form of harm caused by that crash, including losses that have yet to happen but will likely affect you in the future.

Speaking with a reliable lawyer about your legal options should be a priority after a front-end car accident in Seattle. Call today to schedule your consultation.