Common Causes of Car Accidents in Bardstown

Unfortunately, car accidents occur more than anyone would like to see, and frequently for reasons that could have easily been avoided. While distracted driving has become a national epidemic leading to countless injuries, drivers that fail to adhere to basic rules of the road are regularly found responsible for contributing to injuries sustained by others. Therefore, if you are suffering from injuries that were caused by another driver’s negligence, a Bardstown car accident lawyer can help determine the cause of the accident, and work towards getting you compensation for your injuries.

Stautatory Violations

In cases involving a statuatory violation of a traffic laws, a Bardstown car accident attorney can show negligence per se, which means the other driver is automatically at fault for the damages. This very positively can affect your case as the next step is to only show how their unsafe lane change has damaged you.

Ignoring Traffic Signals & Stop Signs

Under Kentucky laws, drivers are ordered by the law to stop at every stop sign, and, in addition to coming to a complete stop, anyone behind the wheel of a car has to make sure that the intersection is clear and that they are yielding to the right of way. Additionally, a driver that violates the traffic law by running a red light can be a very strong case for negligence per se.

Unsafe Lane Changes

Failing to yield the right of way to other vehicles during lane changes is a very common cause of accidents in Bardstown. Examples of unsafe lane changes include:

• changing lanes without looking,
• changing lanes without signaling,
• and switching lanes when you do not have the right to do so, such as at an intersection.

Speeding

Much like texting, speeding is a behavior that is easily controllable, and avoidable. If a car accident lawyer can show that the cause of the accident was a speeding driver, not only will they be able to prove the driver’s negligence and assign them fault, but they might be able to ask the jury to award punitive damages, because speeding is understood and accepted as behavior that should not occur behind the wheel. This is especially common in cases where injuries have occurred as a result of reckless driving, where the driver was going 25 or 35 miles per hour over the speed limit.

Common Causes At Night

Driving at night opens up an entirely new avenue of information that a car accident lawyer needs to be aware of. Whenever an accident has occurred at night, it is going to be very important for an attorney to do a lot of due diligence with respect to the other driver and their medical conditions. A lot of people have restrictions on their licenses requiring that they wear corrective lenses and if they are not wearing prescription glasses or contacts, they could end up with something called starburst, which is when a visually impaired driver is unable to differentiate where headlights are.

Impaired vision makes it very, very dangerous for a large portion of drivers to drive at night. The duty that a legal professional has to uphold societal standards and ensure that people act reasonably prudent may include suggesting that some of these people not drive at night given the ways that various medical conditions manifest themselves with eyesight changes.

Tailgating

Tailgating involves a car driving too close to the one in front of them and not maintaining a safe stopping distance. It is a very common cause of accidents and personal injury cases in Bardstown because, even in rear-end impacts, it can cause neck, cervical, and thoracic injuries that can significantly an individual’s life.

Unfortunately, tailgating injuries typically show up early on as just a cervical strain, therefore it is important for the plaintiff and their attorney not to be in a rush to settle a lawsuit as the insurance company may want. Instead, get medical attention, to make sure that that cervical strain from the rear impact is not something more significant such as a ruptured disk.