Nashville Head-On Collisions

A head-on collision occurs when two vehicles collide, front to front. This can happen when one car drives the wrong way down a one-way street or improperly passes another vehicle. This type of car wreck may also occur when one driver improperly drifts over into another lane into the path of oncoming traffic, such as when negotiating a curve. Head-on collisions can cause catastrophic injuries. When vehicles hit head to head, the forceful and abrupt impact may cause the drivers’ heads to be flung violently forward or backward, sometimes resulting in serious neck, spinal cord, or head injuries. If the other driver was speeding , the cars may collide with sufficient force to cause a permanent injury.

If a driver’s negligence caused him to strike you head-on, then you may seek monetary damages for your bodily injuries and other losses. To do so, you must prove negligence by showing that the at-fault driver owed you a duty of care, that the driver breached that duty of care in some way, that this breach caused your injury, and that you incurred damages as a result thereof. After a head-on collision, many drivers are unwilling to admit that they contributed to the accident in any way. This may be due to memory loss or injury or because the at-fault driver does not want to be legally or financially responsible for the crash. In those cases, an experienced injury attorney in the Nashville area may be able to help the accident victim prove negligence by hiring an accident reconstruction expert to inspect the scene of the crash and determine how the crash happened or by interviewing eyewitnesses who may have seen the accident first-hand.

You may be able to recover damages for your economic and non-economic losses. Damages that you may be able to recover in Tennessee include medical expenses, lost income, lost earning capacity, pain and suffering, mental anguish, and loss of enjoyment of life. These damages are compensatory in nature and attempt to make you whole for your injuries. When the head-on collision is a result of egregious conduct such as drunk or intoxicated driving, you may also be able to recover punitive damages. Punitive damages are intended to punish the at-fault driver and to deter that person and others in the community from engaging in such conduct in the future.

In some cases, the at-fault party may receive a traffic citation or criminal charge as a result of the accident, such as reckless driving. Criminal proceedings are normally separate and independent of civil proceedings, and the injured party can pursue a personal injury claim in civil court even if the at-fault party successfully defends the criminal action. On the other hand, if the at-fault party is found guilty or pleads guilty to the criminal charges, then the injured party may be able to pursue his bodily injury claim under a theory of negligence per se where negligence is established by the mere violation of a safety law. A lawyer who handles car wreck cases in Nashville can discuss with you the impact that criminal proceedings may have on your personal injury claim and help you assert a convincing case against the at-fault party.