A head-on car accident is one of the most severe types of motor vehicle collisions. It is often responsible for sending victims to emergency departments with life-changing injuries. In Pennsylvania, a driver can be held responsible for the injuries and losses caused by a head-on collision if his or her fault for the crash can be established.
When Can You Sue Outside of Pennsylvania’s No-Fault Law?
Pennsylvania is one of only 12 states that are considered “no-fault.” This car insurance law requires all injured accident victims to file claims with their own car insurance companies, regardless of fault. In fault states, on the other hand, drivers can seek compensation from the person or party at fault for causing the crash.
Pennsylvania is a “choice” no-fault state. When purchasing automobile insurance, drivers are given the option of paying for “full tort” insurance vs. “limited tort” insurance. With full tort car insurance, a driver is not restricted in the ability to file a claim against another driver for causing a head-on car accident.
Pennsylvania’s serious injury threshold also allows drivers to sue outside of the no-fault system if they suffered major injuries in an accident. Other exceptions to the no-fault law are if the other driver is convicted of driving under the influence, was driving a motor vehicle registered in another state, was driving while uninsured or underinsured, or intended to harm someone by causing the crash.
Determining Fault for a Head-On Collision
If you have grounds to file a claim against another driver’s car insurance provider after a head-on collision, you or your car accident lawyer will have the burden of proving fault. In most car accident cases, the at-fault party is a motor vehicle driver who broke a law or made a dangerous mistake behind the wheel in the moments leading up to the crash.
An investigation of the head-on collision will be conducted to determine which driver was in the wrong place at the time of impact. Since both vehicles were traveling toward each other, one must have been in the incorrect lane. This may be due to driver distraction, drowsiness, drunkenness, aggressive driving, failure to yield or other dangerous driver errors.
If careless or reckless driver behaviors can be proven, that driver will be held liable (financially responsible) for the head-on collision. Proving fault often takes an analysis of crash scene photographs, video footage, eyewitness statements, the location of property damage on both vehicles, crash reconstruction diagrams and other types of evidence.
Proving Negligence in a Head-On Car Accident Case
Establishing fault for a head-on collision takes evidence that the other driver violated a traffic law or was otherwise behaving negligently at the time of the crash. Negligence in the context of personal injury law refers to the failure to act with proper care, resulting in injury or harm to another person. Proving negligence takes evidence of four elements: duty of care, breach of duty, causation and damages.
An at-fault driver can be held responsible for a head-on collision if there is proof that he or she owed the injured victim a responsibility of care, violated this obligation with a dangerous act or omission behind the wheel, that this caused the head-on collision, and that the victim suffered injuries as a result.
If you were recently injured in a head-on collision, a Pittsburgh car accident lawyer from Dallas W. Hartman P.C., Attorneys at Law can help you prove that someone else is at fault. Contact us for a free case evaluation.