Rear-end crashes in Rockford, IL, pose a serious threat to motorists. According to the city’s crash statistics, these collisions are the second most common type of crash. Occupants of vehicles involved in these accidents can suffer neck, back, and facial injuries.
Fortunately, these types of auto accidents often involve clear liability. A Rockford car accident lawyer from Zayed Law Offices Personal Injury Attorneys can help you gather the evidence needed to pursue fair injury compensation after a rear-end collision.
Contact us at (815) 662-0330 to schedule a free consultation with a Rockford personal injury attorney.
How Zayed Law Offices Personal Injury Attorneys Can Help After a Rear-End Car Accident in Rockford, IL
Zayed Law Offices Personal Injury Attorneys was founded over a decade ago with one mission: to represent injured residents of Rockford, Illinois, against those responsible for harming them. Our firm has recovered millions of dollars in financial compensation for accident victims throughout the state.
Our Rockford personal injury lawyers can use their decades of experience to assist you in the following ways after a car crash:
- Assess your situation and explain how we can help
- Develop your case by gathering evidence and preparing an insurance claim
- Negotiating with the other driver’s insurance carrier to resolve your claim
- File a lawsuit if the insurer refuses to pay for your injury-related losses
Even minor car accident injuries can require long-term treatment and therapy. Contact us to schedule a free consultation with a Rockford car accident attorney. We’ll go over how we can help you recover compensation to pay for your medical needs after another driver injures you.
Rear-End Collisions in Rockford
Rear-end crashes happen when the front of one vehicle strikes the rear of another. As such, they’re sometimes referred to as “front-to-rear” collisions.
The Illinois Department of Transportation reported that Rockford had 3,775 traffic accidents in a recent year. Of these, 933 crashes, or almost 25%, were front-to-rear collisions. Rear-end crashes were second only to turning crashes, but just barely—the city reported 937 turning collisions.
The most common driving error that leads to rear-end accidents is following too closely (tailgating).
A driver’s stopping sight distance includes their reaction distance plus their braking distance. The reaction distance is the distance covered from the time the driver sees an obstacle to the time they apply their brakes. The braking distance is the distance covered while the brakes stop the car.
If the space between two vehicles is less than the stopping sight distance, the driver of the rear vehicle might not have enough time to stop when the driver of the lead vehicle brakes suddenly. Driving courses typically teach students to follow other vehicles at a distance of three car lengths or more.
Other causes of rear-end crashes derive directly from the stopping sight distance formula. Distracted drivers often have slower reaction times because their eyes, hands, or minds are preoccupied. Those who speed have longer braking distances because faster vehicles take longer to stop.
Injuries from Rear-End Crashes
According to a recent Illinois Crash Facts & Statistics report, front-to-rear crashes cause more injuries than any other crash type. Such a collision can cause the occupants of the lead vehicle to whip backward before rebounding forward into their seat belts. The occupants of the rear vehicle experience the opposite reaction, whipping forward then backward.
In either vehicle, occupants may suffer the following injuries:
- Whiplash injuries
- Chest bruises from impacting the seat belt
- Wrist injuries and arm injuries when occupants extend their arms to brace themselves
- Concussions
Whiplash and concussions can happen even if the occupant doesn’t strike anything inside the vehicle. The high forces alone are often enough to jolt the brain and hyperextend the tissues.
Liability for Rear-End Crashes
Logically, the liability for a rear-end crash usually falls on the rear driver. They’re obliged to follow at a safe distance based on the vehicles’ speeds. They must also account for visibility, lighting, and surface conditions. For example, drivers should leave additional space in rainstorms when visibility is poor and roads are slick.
Insurers determine liability for crashes using negligence law. A driver acts negligently when they fail to exercise reasonable care, which means doing something that exposes other road users to an unreasonable risk of injury or death. Speeding, distracted driving, and tailgating can all cause rear-end crashes and expose the at-fault driver to liability for a collision.
However, the fault doesn’t always fall on the rear driver. The lead driver may bear some or all of the liability for a rear-end collision if they changed lanes suddenly without leaving enough space for the rear vehicle. Similarly, a driver might be partially blamed if they brake-check the driver behind them.
Contact Our Rockford Car Accident Lawyers for a Free Consultation
Insurance companies frequently push back on accident claims, including those arising from straightforward rear-end collisions. Contact Zayed Law Offices Personal Injury Attorneys and schedule a free consultation to learn how we stand up to insurers to help clients obtain fair accident compensation.
Our Rockford car accident lawyers work on a contingency fee basis, which means you pay nothing upfront, and we don’t get paid unless we win your case.
