One of the most common injuries that victims of motor vehicle accidents suffer is whiplash. Whiplash is caused by the sudden back and forth motion caused when your vehicle is struck from behind or when your vehicle runs into the back of another vehicle or object. While some cases of whiplash heal relatively quickly through medication and exercise, others can cause chronic neck pain and other complications. If you have suffered a case of whiplash, an experienced attorney can work with you to recover compensation.

Whiplash Signs and Symptoms

After the quick, sudden impact of a car crash, it is common for certain injuries to develop. If you are suffering from any of these symptoms, you may have injured bones in the spine, ligaments, muscles, tissues, or nerves in the neck, or disks in the neck and spine. You should seek medical attention to begin treatment and prevent them from worsening:

• Neck pain or stiffness

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People's lives are so busy with work and family obligations that getting enough sleep often falls to the bottom of the priority list. Most people know that adults should get 7-9 hours of sleep a night, but fewer are aware of just how dangerous sleep deprivation can be–especially behind the wheel. Not getting enough sleep at night can have profound effects on drivers’ ability to drive safely and responsibly. In fact, one study found that drivers who slept less than four hours at night were an incredible 15.1 times more likely to be in a car crash.

Drowsy Driving Can Lead to Severe and Fatal Car Accidents

Studies show that sleep deprivation causes significant impairment. Being significantly sleep-deprived has a similar effect to being under the influence of alcohol. Fatigued drivers are more likely to make mistakes behind the wheel and are slower to respond to road hazards such as dropped truck cargo or a stalled vehicle. Sleepiness also affects drivers’ visuospatial attention which means they are less capable of processing stimuli in their immediate surroundings. This can be disastrous while driving.

Some Drivers Fall Asleep at the Wheel

Another frightening consequence of drowsy driving is the potential for a driver to fall asleep at the wheel. The CDC reports that 1 in 25 drivers admit to falling asleep while driving in the last 30 days. Many drivers are also at risk of “microsleep.” Microsleep episodes occur when the driver falls asleep for just a few seconds without knowing that they fell asleep. Unfortunately, it only takes a split second for an injurious or deadly collision to occur.

Original publication date: 7/20/20

When cellphones first became popular in the 1990s and early 2000s, phones were capable of little more than making and receiving calls. Today’s smartphones allow us to do everything from banking to online shopping. Using a cell phone while driving is associated with a much higher risk of being in an accident. One study showed that drivers who were texting and driving are over 20 times more likely to be involved in a collision. It is estimated that almost one in five crashes in Texas are caused by a distracted driver. 

If you have been injured by another driver in a car accident, you may need to deal with a variety of issues, including receiving treatment for your injuries, being unable to work while you are recovering, and repairing or replacing a damaged vehicle. If the driver who caused a collision did not have insurance, you may be worried about how you will be able to cover your expenses and make a full recovery. Fortunately, by working with a personal injury attorney, you can determine your options for receiving insurance coverage or pursuing compensation from other sources.

Uninsured/Underinsured Motorist Coverage

If the driver who was at fault for a car wreck was uninsured, you can usually receive coverage through your own auto insurance policy. All car insurance policies are required to include uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage. Uninsured motorist coverage will address situations where an at-fault driver had no insurance, and underinsured motorist coverage will be available in cases where a driver’s insurance policy will not fully cover your expenses. Uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage must be provided at the minimum amounts for liability insurance. In Texas, these amounts are $30,000 for the bodily injury or death of one person, $60,000 for the bodily injury or death of two or more people, and $25,000 for property damage.

While your own insurance policy will provide you with coverage in cases where another driver did not have insurance, receiving payments that fully address your injuries and damages can sometimes be difficult. A skilled attorney can speak to your insurance company on your behalf and negotiate a settlement that will fully cover your injuries and property damage.

Road rage is a rapidly growing menace in the United States, especially in Houston TX. Road rage occurs when a driver expresses extreme aggression or anger intending to create or cause physical harm.

Aggressive driving and road rage are two different concepts. According to The National Highway and Transportation Safety Association (NHTSA), aggressive driving is “when an individual commits a combination of moving traffic offences so as to endanger other persons or property”. Road rage takes things one step further into a more violent and potentially dangerous territory. From January through April this year, law enforcement agencies reported 107 road rage crashes in Harris County to the Texas Department of Transportation. That’s up 13% from the 95 reported during the same time last year. Injuries are up 26%.

A car accident involving road rage can be a traumatic experience. If you are a victim of a road rage accident, what are your legal options?