WASHINGTON, D.C. ROLLOVER ACCIDENT LAWYERS

Washington, DC Rollover Accidents

Being in a vehicle that is struck by another is already a traumatic experience. However, some car accidents are more traumatic than others. One of the most terrifying events to endure is a rollover crash, when the vehicle that you are riding in, after being hit, then spins on to its roof, or perhaps even on to its side again. These kind of crashes often leave people seriously injured, and some people even die.

If you or a family member have been hurt during a rollover car accident, speak to a Washington DC rollover car accident lawyer today. Blaszkow Legal can help you to understand your rights, and begin fighting for you to get the compensation that you deserve.

Speaking to an attorney for all personal injury matters is free, and you should never try to battle insurance companies alone.

Filing a Claim for a DC Rollover Accident

After a rollover accident, once you have gotten out of the hospital and are at home, you may find that your phone begins to ring. Car insurance companies are going to want to speak to you, and get information about what happened. You should never speak to an insurance adjuster without speaking to a Washington DC personal injury lawyer first. Always remember that insurance companies are dedicated to paying you as little money as possible, if they pay anything at all. No matter how nice they sound on the phone, they do not have your best interests at heart.

The insurance claims process can often take a significant amount of time, especially in more serious car accidents such as rollover collisions. It is important for you to be protected at every stage of a case. Also keep in mind that anything you say to an insurance adjuster they can and will use against you!

Injuries Sustained in Rollover Accidents

Vehicle rollover crashes can result in extremely serious injuries. Sometimes, these injuries are catastrophic, and even fatal. No matter how good the safety rating of a vehicle, depending on the mechanism of the crash, and the objects around, unfortunate occupants can sometimes be crushed within the vehicle. There are a wide range of injuries that drivers and passengers can suffer after a rollover accident, including:

• Concussions

• Traumatic brain injuries or TBIs

• Crush type injuries

• Amputations of limbs or fingers

• Fracture and broken bone

• Neck injuries

• Back injuries

• Whiplash

• Sprains and strains of muscles

• Damage to nerves

• Contusions or bruises

• Burns from airbag deployment

• Puncture wounds from debris

• Damage to internal organs

• Internal bleeding

• Glass fragments in the eye

• Paralysis

• Death

Causes of Washington, DC Rollover Accidents

No two rollover accidents are the same. Each crash that we investigate involves a unique set of facts, and factors. We investigate each crash individually, to determine exactly what happened. However, in our investigations, we do find that there are several common causes of many rollover crashes:

Distracted Driving

Distracted driving is getting worse and worse on Washington DC roadways. Unfortunately, everyone these days has a cell phone, and some careless and negligent motorists utilize them while they are driving. Suprisingly, however, cell phones are not the only method of distraction encountered by motorists on the roadway. Some drivers simply get lost in thought while daydreaming, or considering an important work project. Some other elements of distracted driving include:

• Texting

• Utilizing the vehicle infotainment system

• Adjusting a GPS device

• Talking to passengers

• Attempting to eat while driving

• Trying to pick up an object that was dropped

• Focusing on a distraction on the side of the road

• Lighting a cigarette while driving

• Adjusting vehicle controls

Fatigued driving

Some motorists push themselves beyond the limits of their own endurance. This is a personal choice that places others at risk. When a driver becomes so tired that their eyelids begin to shut, that driver has a responsibility not only to himself, but to other motorists, to pull over and park. Unfortunately, driving while drowsy can cause the vehicle to swerve, or otherwise lose its lane, sometimes causing the drowsy driver to overcorrect. This overcorrection can jerk the vehicle into another lane, striking another vehicle on the side, and causing it to roll.

DUI and DWI

Driving under the influence of alcohol, or driving under the influence of drugs increases the risk that the user, while intoxicated, is not going to properly register traffic control devices and stop lights. These crashes can sometimes result in T-Bone collisions with drivers who are following the rules of the road, and these can lead to roll over crashes.

Improper Lane Change

Some drivers swerve their vehicles violently to avoid a collision with an object in the road, while other drivers drive wildly trying to pass people on a congested road, such as New York Avenue. This danger is merging doesn't take into account the progress of other vehicles on the road, and if an aggressive driver miscalculates, can strike another vehicle along the wheel well or on the side, and with enough force, can cause a rollover collision.

Compensation for Rollover Accident Victims

After a rollover accident, you are able to file a claim against the person who's negligence, recklessness, or carelessness caused your injuries and your damages. Many people ask what that claim includes. It's a very basic question, with a complicated answer. There are many different elements to your damages. "Damages" does not simply mean the physical harm suffered by your vehicle, but the whole universe of ways in which you have been impacted by the rollover crash: financially, mentally, emotionally, and physically.

Costs of medical treatment

Medical treatment is generally but not always, the largest element of your damages. Medical bills are a kind of economic damage, in that it can be clearly represented by medical bills and medical records, that form your treat. Medical bills includes:

• Emergency room treatment

• Imaging such as x-rays, CT scans, and MRIs

• Post Hospital evaluations, such as primary care doctors and orthopedists

• Physical therapy and Rehabilitation

• Post traumatic stress therapy

• Medical supplies and medical devices

• Prescriptions

After a car accident in Washington DC, you need to see a doctor! If you have not been transported by an ambulance to a hospital, you need to go immediately. There are too many possible ways that a person can be injured in a rollover crash, for you to take chances with your health. Get evaluated by a physician right away!

Future medical expenses

Just because you have been discharged from active treatment, does not mean that that is the final piece of your claim. Some doctors may discharge you as having reached MMI, or "maximum medical improvement." That same doctor may recognize that you are still symptomatic, and may need additional treatment next month, next year, and potentially for the rest of your life. The forecast of reasonably anticipated medical expenses also forms part of your claim.

Lost wages

After a Washington DC rollover crash, there is a high likelihood that you have missed, and are going to miss, time from work. Your loss of income forms part of your claim, whether you simply were not paid, or whether you utilized all of the sick leave and vacation leave that you have been saving up.

Loss of earning capacity

In some of these serious rollover crashes, innocent people are so injured that they cannot return to their chosen profession, and have to accept some substitute employment. Unfortunately, many times this comes with a reduction in pay. This difference in what you made, versus what you will make in the future, is also part of your claim. It is called "lost earning capacity."

Diminished value

Not only do you have a claim for the repairs to your vehicle, you also have a claim for the inherent value that you lost as a result of the accident. Diminished value is the difference between what a car was worth before the crash, and what it is worth now, after the repairs have been completed.

Pain and suffering

Many people who have heard of car accidents, have heard of pain and suffering. However, this is an extremely complicated issue, because there is no law book or case that says a broken arm is worth X, and a broken back is worth Y. It is the job of an experienced Washington DC car accident lawyer to prove your pain and suffering, and how the rollover crash impacted the various aspects of your life.

How Long Do You Have to File a Claim for a Washington DC Rollover Accident?

Rollover accidents are often very serious, and result in significant trauma to your body, as well as your mind. You have the right to file a claim for compensation (your damages). But you only have a limited amount of time in which to do so. DC law imposes a 3 years statute of limitations from the date of an accident, under DC code 12-301. That means that the lawsuit against the asphalt person or parties, must be filed within 3 years of the date of the crash.

Warning! 3 years is not the only deadline that you have to remember and worry about, however. If, for example, your rollover accident was caused due to the negligence of a DC government vehicle, such as the Department of Public Works (DPW), or the Metropolitan Police (MPD), then you are required to file formal legal notice within only 6 months of the crash, under DC code 12-309. If you do not follow this law, then the government may be able to defeat your claim on procedural grounds.

If your rollover car accident was caused by a US government or a federal vehicle, then, under the federal court claims act, you only have two years in which to file that claim.

Speak to a lawyer immediately for a free case evaluation, so we can help make sure that you preserve all of your statutes, and do not lose your ability to get the compensation you are entitled to.

Get Help from a Washington DC Rollover Accident Lawyer

You have enough on your plate after a serious car accident. You don't need to be wasting your mental powers on trying to battle intransigent insurance companies, that just want you to go away. Call Blaszkow Legal today, and let us help investigate, and develop your personal injury case, and work to get the compensation that you deserve, to hold the negligent parties accountable for causing your injuries.

Call us today for a free consultation - 703-879-5910