When you get on the road, you want to trust the people around you to not only obey the law but to secure any personal belongings or goods that might put you in harm’s way. Unfortunately, your fellow drivers all too often leave their belongings precariously perched on car roofs or inappropriately secured in the back of their trucks.
If those goods end up falling off of a moving vehicle, they can put you and your passengers in immediate danger. Flying debris car accidents can prove as deadly, if not more so, than head-on or rear-end collisions. What specifically, though, is a flying debris car accident, and how can the car accident lawyers with Vaughan & Vaughan help you recover?
Classifying Flying Debris
The Prevalence of Motor Vehicle Crashes Involving Road Debris report released by the AAA notes that roadway debris contributed to over 200,000 accidents between 2011 and 2014. How, though, do you classify flying debris?
The term refers to any good or belonging that falls out of another party’s vehicle, regardless of that good’s value. In other words, the term “debris” does not confine itself to garbage or unwanted materials. “Debris” instead covers any improperly-secured item that endangers you and your loved ones.
This means that private motorists are as likely to cause flying debris accidents as truck drivers and garbage crews are. Even construction crews can find themselves guilty of causing a flying debris accident should that crew specifically fail to secure the materials they’re transporting either to or from a construction site.
Reacting to a Flying Debris Accident
Many drivers act on instinct when responding to a flying debris car accident. Motorists want to swerve out of the way of the debris to avoid worst-case scenario injuries. Unfortunately, in doing so, many drivers may find themselves in accidents with other, unrelated vehicles.
In light of these accidents’ serious injuries, it’s the minutes, hours, and days following a flying debris car crash that are essential to your recovery. If you want to make the most out of this crucial period, you can:
Get Essential Medical Attention
Before you consider legal action, get in touch with first responders, your general care practitioner, and any other specialists needed to address your flying debris car accident injuries. Your and your passengers’ health should be your first priority. Work with the emergency responders on the scene, and do not move if you’re too injured to do so.
If there’s someone on the scene who isn’t injured, or if you feel you can safely move, get away from the site of your crash while remaining at the scene. If possible, gather bystanders’ contact information at the same time you exchange insurance information with the other drivers involved in your accident.
That said, do not prioritize at-the-scene legwork if you’re injured or otherwise in danger. Outside parties can help you address the nature of your accident after you’ve received the care you need to recover.
Contact an Attorney
You are not obligated to call an attorney while at an accident scene. Doing so, however, can benefit your long-term recovery. Personal injury attorneys can help you talk about your accident with both police officers and an insurance adjuster. In turn, you can retain control over the narrative surrounding your accident.
Our team also prevents liable parties from misrepresenting the nature of your accident in conversations with bystanders and authority figures. As such, no liable party can intimidate or otherwise manipulate applicable parties into laying the blame for an accident on your shoulders.
In other words, an attorney works as your advocate at an accident scene. If you’re not in a position to advocate for yourself, or if you don’t know how, a legal representative can be a boon in the face of a crisis.
Filing a Personal Injury Claim After a Flying Debris Car Accident
Indiana car accident lawyers do more than help you overcome the immediate aftermath of a flying debris car accident. Our team can also help you file a personal injury claim against the party responsible for your accident. We use evidence from the accident scene to assign liability for your losses and to estimate what compensation you may deserve.
That said, you only have two years to bring a flying debris car accident claim forward in civil court, should you choose to file one. That deadline gets enforced by Indiana’s statute of limitations, Indiana Code section 34-11-2-4. It’s with that in mind that we recommend you reach out to an attorney as soon as you can after a flying debris car collision.
How to Avoid Modified Comparative Fault Reductions in a Flying Debris Car Accident Case
Indiana operates on a modified understanding of comparative fault. This means that if the party whose debris caused your accident believes you bear some of the fault for your accident, you may lose a percentage of your desired compensation. So long as you’re found less than 51 percent liable for your accident, though, you can still take your case to court.
There are, fortunately, steps you can take to avoid being found partially liable for your own flying debris car accident. Avoid tailgating other vehicles at all costs, and stay aware of your surroundings. Don’t text and drive or otherwise find yourself distracted if you’re the one behind the wheel.
If you find yourself behind a vehicle that hasn’t properly secured its debris, consider switching lanes or finding an alternate route to your desired destination. If there isn’t time to get out of the way of falling debris, contact an attorney as soon as you and your passengers have addressed any accident-related injuries.
The team of experienced car accident attorneys with Vaughan & Vaughan can always advocate for your right to comprehensive compensation, even if a liable party tries to assign some of an accident’s fault to you. You can discuss your best approach to a flying debris car accident case with our team today.
Talk to Vaughan & Vaughan About Your Flying Debris Car Accident
Any motorist or truck driver who fails to secure the goods in the back of their vehicle puts you at risk for serious injuries. If you do get hit by flying debris, either as a pedestrian, a fellow motorist, or a related party, you can take legal action against the person who was supposed to protect you. Vaughan & Vaughan can help you build your case.
Our personal injury attorneys throughout Indiana are ready to investigate your losses today. You can initiate that investigation by contacting our team online or by phone. We can schedule your first free, no-obligation case consultation and help you determine what path to compensation suits your best interests.
