Drivers and passengers in moving vehicles are regularly injured at low speed, in low impact collisions. The best example of a low impact collision is a rear end collision while in slow-moving traffic.
Many times, the injuries in these kinds of car accidents are soft tissue injuries, including neck injuries, which are difficult to diagnose and take a good amount of time to treat.
Insurance adjusters, whether independent or in a company, have difficulty believing that people could have gotten injured while driving at low speed.
Accidents at low speed should be self-explanatory. However, if you’re traveling at 45 miles per hour and you get hit by a car traveling at 55 miles per hour, there’s only a 10 miler per hour difference between cars, so it is considered a low impact accident and you can still get hurt. Speaking with an experienced auto accident attorney at Avrek Law Firm about your case can be your best path to receiving a low impact car accident settlement.
Do I Need a Low Impact Collision Lawyer?
If you are in an accident that could be considered low speed or low impact, and have suffered low impact auto accident injuries, the insurance adjuster may suddenly become the most hardcore skeptic in town, and will do everything in his power to prove that you were not injured. This is why it is important for you to hire an experienced car accident lawyer after a low impact accident – the expertise of a knowledgeable attorney in this area will allow you to gather all the required evidence for your claim.
Avrek law has more than 50 years of experience helping clients, and we have recovered more than $1 Billion during that time. Contact our car accident lawyers today for a free consultation.
How Dangerous is a Low Impact Collision?
According to data from the Department of Transportation, seven out of 10 auto accidents in 2011 involved another vehicle, and a quarter of them were considered a low impact accident. Even if the accident falls into that category, you should always report it, especially if it is possible that it was your fault.
What is the Impact from Car Accident Injuries?
Most people (78%) who get hit in the back of their car suffer neck pain for more than a week. In half of these patients (a third of the victims of back collisions), the discomfort lasted for more than a year, according to a study published in the August issue of the “Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery and Psychiatry.”
Car accidents are the main cause of whiplash, an injury to the soft tissues of the neck (muscles, ligaments, nerves and discs) due to a sudden shake of the head. The headrests with which the cars are currently equipped have mitigated some of this risk, but they do not eliminate it completely. The sudden movement will cause pain and stiffness in the neck and may also radiate to the upper limbs and back, causing dizziness or a feeling of instability, and a concussion is also possible.
Common Causes of Low Impact Collisions
- Distracted driving: The most common cause of low impact collisions is distracted driving. Talking on the phone, sending messages and applying makeup while driving create a lack of attention for several seconds, which can cause many accidents.
- Not paying attention while parking: This is also a very common cause for low impact accidents, many of which occur in parking lots when a distracted driver hits another one when exiting or entering the place because of their lack of attention to the surroundings.
- Driving drunk: Confusion and the inability to concentrate due to alcohol impairment produce millions of accidents around the world.
- Driving impatiently: Getting too close to other vehicles, changing lanes abruptly or failing to avoid other vehicles can lead to accidents. Your duty on the road is to be safe and courteous so that the traffic does not stop.
- Rain: Asphalt becomes dangerous when it starts raining, as it is slippery and can cause you to lose control of the vehicle.
- Not stopping at a red light: This is a very common cause for low impact accidents, when drivers do not brake at red lights but, instead, try to keep on driving and cause an accident.
- Driving in the dark or in fog: If visibility goes down, the risk of accidents will double. So, you should try to handle these kinds of situations very carefully, achieve the maximum possible luminosity and stop if you cannot see well.
- Not sleeping well: Many hours of driving make a person feel fatigue. If you add to this not having slept well, you have a prescription for an accident. If you feel sleepy, even for a moment, you should stop, stretch your legs and refresh yourself.
- Miscellaneous: Things like poor road conditions and tire blowouts, driving under high stress and driving on roads you aren’t familiar with are common causes of both a high or low impact accident.
Can My Vehicle Be Damaged in a Low Impact Accident?
Head on collision: This occurs when the impact is in the front of the car, either in the central part or in the front dimensions of the vehicle. The impact may involve two cars receiving damage on the front. The cars integrate absorbers in the bumpers and the airbag should minimize the impact.
Rear end collision: Rear-end collisions are the most common type of low impact collision and happens when one car hits another traveling in front of it, not keeping a safe distance from it and causing damage to the front and rear of vehicles.
T-bone Collision: This type of low impact accident happens when a car strikes the side of another and normally occurs at the intersections of a road. This type of blow out affects the stirrup, central parallels and doors. To reduce this type of impact from car accident occurrences, manufacturers install protective bars on the doors and some more sophisticated side curtains of airbags in the doors. This type of collision is the one that carries greatest risk for the occupants.
If you’ve been involved in a car accident, learn what to do next and learn about how to avoid car accidents.
Should I See a Chiropractor After a Low Impact Collision?
Were you in a low impact accident, and have you sustained low impact auto accident injuries? You might feel fine, but to confirm that you are, you should see a chiropractor or other medical professional after a low impact collision.
REASON #1 – You can have a more serious injury and not know it. Most people mistakenly believe that they should be in pain if they have an injury, but this is not always true. Damage to the body, muscles, joints and spine usually causes pain, but there are no guarantees.
Some damage is low enough that there is no pain. However, a minor injury, when left unattended, can lead to aggravation and then pain. You can prevent this with the right chiropractic care. After a low impact accident, a chiropractor will gather your medical history, perform a quick physical examination and ask questions about your car accident. They will then diagnose any problem and decide on a course of treatment, which may include joint adjustments or therapeutic massages to relieve the pain that will go away over time.
REASON #2 – Chiropractic care is less invasive and surgery is a last resort. No surgical tools or invasive medical procedures are required for treatment, as chiropractors are based on manual, hand therapy.
After a car accident, many victims are afraid to seek medical treatment. They worry about surgery or are loaded on prescription drugs that have many side effects. Although you may fear the hospital or your primary care physician, you have no reason to fear a chiropractor.
A physical modification as a whole may necessarily be to adequately realign a joint and is done with the precision of a chiropractor’s hands. There is no cutting of the skin or drawing of blood.
Will a Low Impact Collision Affect a Possible Settlement?
There are many factors that can affect a low impact car accident settlement or a
low speed rear end collision settlement, including transportation expenses, expenses in medicine and rehabilitation, economic losses (loss of earnings and corrective factor in relation to salary), moral damages to relatives, or adequacy of the vehicle.
A low impact car accident is considered a crash that happened at a low speed and resulted in little or no property damage. According to research published in Spine, rear-end accidents that happen at a low speed—typically less than 10 miles per hour—hardly ever produce injuries beyond neck strain, possibly from whiplash.
However, whiplash might have complications that can result in hefty medical bills.
Dangers of Whiplash
While whiplash is less common in low impact car accidents, any sharp movement of the neck can cause it, according to the Mayo Clinic. If you have not seen a medical professional yet, do so right away if you feel any of the following symptoms:
- Pain in the neck
- Memory loss
- Tiredness
- Depression
- Limited neck movement
- Headaches
- Shoulder pain
- Back pain
- Arm numbness or pain
- Trouble sleeping
Most people will recover from whiplash within a couple of weeks, usually needing nothing more than pain management and at-home remedies. However, severe whiplash could last months or years, and you should get compensation for your injuries.
Securing Compensation for Low Impact Car Accidents
If a negligent driver caused your accident, and you suffered whiplash or another injury, you might recover compensation for expenses related to the crash. Our car accident attorneys can estimate what you might receive as an award.
Medical Bills
In a personal injury lawsuit, you can recover compensation for costly medical bills resulting from the accident, such as:
- Doctor’s visits
- Hospitalizations
- Prescription medication
- Mental health therapy
- Medical devices
- Ambulance transport
- In-home care
Generally, you can recover any costs associated with the crash caused by the other driver. Just be sure to save all your medical bills as evidence of your losses.
Lost Wages
On top of medical bills, if you suffered a neck injury, you could also miss time at work, which means losing wages. You could recover any of the following work-related losses:
- Salary and wages
- Earning potential
- Temporary or permanent disability
- Bonuses
- Vacation or holiday pay
- 401(k) or retirement contributions
- Promotions
Pain and Suffering
In most personal injury cases, there is an element of physical and emotional pain and suffering that you can claim as damages. It is a complicated and subjective calculation, typically based on the severity of the crash—in this case, low—and the extent of your injuries.
Property Damage
Even in low impact rear-end crashes, your bumper could suffer some serious damage. If you did not cause the accident, you should not have to pay for the cost to repair or replace your bumper. You might also recover the cost of transportation you used while your car was out of commission, such as public transport, ridesharing, or a rental car.
Hire a Car Accident Lawyer
A car accident lawyer can help you with your case while you recover from your injuries and the emotional stress from the accident. An attorney can:
- Evaluate your damages.
- Tell you if you have a case.
- Walk you through the legal process.
- Investigate the accident.
- Prove the other party’s fault.
- Negotiate with insurance companies.
- Fight for compensation.
- Take your case to trial.
A car accident lawyer can help you prove the other driver’s negligence by showing that they owed you a reasonable standard of care, breached that standard, and that breach caused an accident that led to your injuries and material losses. If the investigation turns up enough evidence to prove negligence, the attorney can help you recover your accident costs.
There are other benefits to having a lawyer for a car accident case. As you struggle with medical bills and repair costs, you might also worry that you cannot afford legal services, leading you to accept a lowball settlement offer from the at-fault driver’s insurance company. However, most attorneys work on a contingency model, meaning they do not accept any payment unless they secure you an award in your case.
We follow this model at Ben Crump Law, PLLC, because we understand that this is a difficult time for you and your family. However, you do not have to go through this period alone. A car accident lawyer from our team is available to help you.
There is no risk to you by calling our firm, so reach out today at 800-595-2555 when you are ready to hold the at-fault party accountable. We believe no one should have to pay the costs of an accident that they had no part in causing, even if the car accident is considered low impact.