Head on Collisions

Head on collisions occur when the front end of one vehicle hits the front end of another vehicle. These are a minority of accidents, but when they happen they often result in catastrophic or fatal injuries. Most of the time head on collisions are the result of driver negligence, such as failure to stay in one’s own lane or because a driver travels the wrong way into oncoming traffic. If you were harmed or a loved one was killed in a head on collision in, skillful Syracuse car accident attorneys of DeFrancisco & Falgiatano may be able to help.

Head on collisions happen when cars traveling in opposite directions hit each other. Often head on collisions are the most dangerous types of car accidents because the force of the impact is increased by each car’s traveling speed. Even when drivers are only traveling at around 25 miles per hour, the impact is the same as hitting a fixed object at around 50 mph. Most drivers travel above the speed limit, which means the force of the collision is likely to be even more than 50 mph.

Head on collisions are caused by many different behaviors, including distracted driving, drunk driving, traveling too fast or recklessly in bad weather such as snow, or entering an expressway on an off-ramp exit instead of an on-ramp.

As an accident victim who is injured in New York, you’ll need to turn to your own no-fault insurance coverage first. However, assuming you have serious injuries that meet the threshold to sue for damages, you may be able to recover by establishing the other driver’s negligence in a personal injury lawsuit. You’ll need to prove it’s more likely than not the other driver: (1) owed you a duty of reasonable care, (2) breach of the duty of reasonable care, (3) causation, and (4) damages. There are many ways the duty to use reasonable care may be breached. It might be a breach of the duty to use reasonable care for a driver to disregard a one-way sign, for example.

Often the injuries in a head-on collision are catastrophic and life-changing. The damages may be significant. They can include both economic and noneconomic losses. Economic losses may include lost wages, out-of-pocket costs, medical bills, rehabilitation, and therapy. Noneconomic losses are usually undocumented losses like emotional anguish, pain and suffering, loss of consortium, and loss of enjoyment of life. These damages can be dramatically different depending on who is representing you and their experience at figuring out all the ways in which your life has been changed as a result of a head-on collision. An experienced attorney should dig into what you used to do before the accident and your injuries that you are no longer able to do, and present your testimony in a compelling way.

If you lost a loved one due to fatal injuries arising out of a head-on collision, it may be possible to recover damages in a wrongful death lawsuit. Under New York Estates, Powers, and Trusts Code part 4, a plaintiff needs to prove (1) a death, (2) caused by the defendant’s wrongful conduct, (3) giving rise to a cause of action the decedent could have gone after in court had she not died, (4) survival by one or more people that suffered losses due to the death, and (5) damages the estate can recover.

If you were harmed in a head on collision in Syracuse, your injuries are likely to be severe. Whether you suffered catastrophic injuries or lost a loved one, you should talk to an experienced and dedicated injury lawyer. DeFrancisco & Falgiatano represents car accident victims and their families in Syracuse, as well as Rochester, Elmira, Auburn, Cooperstown, Lyons, Ithaca, Canandaigua, Wampsville, Oneida, Herkimer, Utica, Lowville, Watertown, and Oswego. Please call us at 833-200-2000 or contact us via our online form.