Head-on crashes are rare in Fort Mill, SC. According to the National Safety Council, only about 4.4% of all crashes in 2022 were head-on in the U.S. However, these types of crashes disproportionately produce injury or death. Specifically, these collisions caused nearly 30% of deaths and 9% of injuries.
Many of these crashes will support a car accident claim by a Fort Mill head-on crash lawyer under South Carolina law. A Fort Mill head-on crash lawyer from Elrod Pope Accident & Injury Attorneys helps you fight at-fault drivers and insurers for fair injury compensation. We have 150+ years of combined experience and have recovered over $100 million for our clients. Call our law office in Fort Mill at (803) 902-4045 today or schedule a free consultation here.
How Elrod Pope Accident & Injury Attorneys Can Help After A Head-On Crash In Fort Mill, SC
When another driver hits you head-on in Fort Mill, South Carolina, you deserve compensation for your accident and injuries. Our seasoned Fort Mill car accident lawyers can help you with your claim. We have been recognized by The National Trial Lawyers, Super Lawyers, and the Multi-Million Dollar Advocates Forum.
At Elrod Pope Accident & Injury Attorneys, a personal injury lawyer in Fort Mill provides the following services:
- Assessing your legal options for injury compensation
- Securing records and documents and filing an insurance claim
- Negotiating to settle your claim to avoid litigation
- Filing a lawsuit if a settlement is not reached
A head-on crash can cause injuries that require lifelong support and resources. Contact Elrod Pope Accident & Injury Attorneys to schedule a free consultation with one of our attorneys.
Head-On Collision Statistics In South Carolina
The most recent car accident statistics from South Carolina are reported in the 2022 edition of the South Carolina Traffic Collision Fact Book. The state does not include the number of head-on collisions. However, the report includes the number of wrong-way crashes.
According to the table identifying the primary contributing factors, South Carolina had 2,146 total crashes, including the following:
- 74 fatal collisions
- 722 non-fatal injury collisions
- 1,350 property damage-only collisions
This means 37% of head-on crashes caused at least one injury or fatality. Specifically, these crashes resulted in the following:
- 89 fatalities
- 157 people with serious injuries
- 1,198 people with other injuries
Thus, head-on collisions in South Carolina caused 1,444 injuries and deaths in just one year.
Injuries From Head-On Crashes
Head-on crashes are especially harmful. The energy released in a crash depends on the mass and speed of the vehicles.
However, when calculating the energy, you use the relative speed between the vehicles. Thus, you would use five miles per hour to calculate the crash energy in a rear-end collision between a vehicle traveling 50 miles per hour and one going 55 miles per hour.
Even a low-speed head-on crash can cause serious injuries because you must add the speeds of the vehicles. Two vehicles traveling 25 miles per hour that collide head-on produce the same crash energy as one vehicle hitting a building at 50 miles per hour.
This impact can cause many injuries, including the following:
Concussion
A concussion occurs when the brain is jostled in the skull. The movement of the brain damages the tissues and causes the brain to swell. The injury can cause physical symptoms, such as clumsiness, and cognitive difficulties, like confusion.
Whiplash
Whiplash happens when the violent movement of your head stretches the tendons, muscles, and ligaments in your neck. The stretching damages the tissues and may even tear them. As a result, you may experience neck pain, stiffness, and swelling.
Chest Injuries
The impact of your body against your seat belt can bruise your chest, fracture your ribs, and tear your chest muscles. Worse yet, a broken bone can tear tissues and organs in your thoracic cavity, such as the membranes that protect your lungs or heart.
Liability For Head-On Collisions In South Carolina
Your attorney must show that the other driver was negligent so that you can recover injury compensation. Negligence means they failed to exercise reasonable care for the safety of the other people on the road.
Most causes of head-on collisions necessarily arise from negligence. In other words, for a driver to end up going the wrong way on a road, they must have committed some preventable error. These errors often include impaired driving, drowsy driving, and distracted driving.
For example, a common cause of head-on crashes occurs when a drunk driver uses a freeway exit as an entrance. The result is a high-speed, head-on DUI collision. In this case, the drunk driver was negligent in two respects. First, they were negligent when they drove after drinking alcohol. Second, they were negligent in disobeying or failing to notice the “Do Not Enter” signs.
Contact Our Fort Mill Head-On Crash Lawyers For A Free Consultation
Head-on crashes almost always involve negligence by at least one of the drivers. Contact Elrod Pope Accident & Injury Attorneys for a free consultation to discuss your accident with a Fort Mill head-on crash attorney.
