Jackson, MS Head-On Collisions

If you have been hurt in a car accident, your quality life can be affected immediately. You may suffer physical injuries that require prompt medical treatment, such as an emergency room visit. Even if you do not go to the hospital, your injuries may continue to progress, as the adrenaline from being involved in the wreck wears off. After consulting with your primary care physician, you may receive a referral to a specialist or physical therapy. Your injuries may take you off of work, thereby preventing you from earning your full paycheck.

To recover damages for your losses, you will need to demonstrate that another driver caused the head-on collision. These wrecks can occur on two lane roads or when vehicles are coming around a curve. Sometimes they are the result of a drunk or impaired driver. To prove another driver’s fault, you will need to establish negligence, which is the failure to act reasonably under the circumstances. Proving that another driver suddenly crossed into your lane of traffic and struck you head-on usually satisfies the plaintiff’s legal burden of proof.

Proving negligence in a head-on collision can allow you to seek compensatory damages for your losses. You should discuss your case with a car accident lawyer in Jackson who can identify the forms of compensation to which you may be entitled. In Mississippi, compensatory damages generally fall into two categories, economic and non-economic damages. Economic damages can be assigned a specific dollar amount, such as medical bills, lost wages, and other out of pocket expenses. If you have suffered a permanent injury, you may be entitled to diminished earning capacity if you must return to work in a part-time role or lesser paying position.

Non-economic damages, on the other hand, are more subjective in nature. They are losses that cannot be objectively quantified at any given time. They include loss of enjoyment of life, pain and suffering, emotional distress, and loss of consortium. Many factors can impact an award of non-economic damages, such as whether the victim lived an active lifestyle, whether the victim has permanent restrictions, and whether the victim can still perform activities of daily living without assistance. Many times, witness testimony can play a critical role in establishing the full extent of non-economic losses.

A tragic truth about head-on collisions is that they are more likely than many other types of crashes to be fatal because of the nature and force of the impact. Between 2013 and 2014, 37 people lost their lives in fatal accidents in the Jackson area. Fortunately, only one of these accidents (on I-20 in June 2014) resulted in the deaths of multiple victims. However, the rate of fatal accidents in Jackson rose higher than the Mississippi average in 2014 after resting well below the state average in 2013. Fatal accidents involving drunk drivers and pedestrian fatalities also surpassed the Mississippi average.