CAR WRECKS
Car wrecks occur every day in Texas. In Texas in 2022, there was no day in the year where someone did not die in a traffic collision with a total of 4,481 people losing their life in motor vehicle wrecks in Texas. Further, there were 15,299 serious injury crashes in Texas in 2022 with over 244,000 people being injured in traffic collisions in Texas. Most of these car accidents are preventable. If you were injured in a car accident, you need to ensure your rights are protected.
Fort Worth & Tarrant County Car Wreck Statitistics
In 2022, Fort Worth had the 5th highest amount of car and truck wrecks in the State of Texas. Houston led the state with 67,386 crashes, San Antonio was 2nd with 29,355, Dallas was 3rd with 33,980, 4th was El Paso with 16,232 and Fort Worth in fifth.
City of Fort Worth - 2022 Crash Statistics:
- Total Crashes: 13,401
- Fatal Crashes: 114
- Total Fatalities: 120
- Serious Crashes: 449
When you combine Fort Worth and the other cities in Tarrant County, the statistics reveal Tarrant County was the fourth deadliest county in Texas for motor vehicle crashes, only behind Harris County, Dallas County, and Bexar County.
Tarrant County - 2022 Crash Statitstics:
- Total Crashes: 28,997
- Fatal Crashes: 208
- Total Fatalities: 216
- Serious Crashes: 926
Sadly, a number of these fatality collisions were preventable as almost half of the people who died were not wearing a seat belt. Further, a little more than 1/4 of all the fatality crashes involved a drunk driver and at least one in ten fatal crashes involved a distracted driver.
What You Should Do Immediately Following an Accident
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Stay at the accident scene.
Stop and stay at the scene of the crash. You should never leave the scene of an accident until the police release you to leave the scene.
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Check on yourself and others for injuries.
Immediately following the crash, check yourself and other occupants of your vehicle for any injuries. Assuming it is safe for you to get out of your vehicle, and you are able to do so, you should also check on others involved in the collision for injuries.
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Call 911
Call the police for assistance or if someone is injured, call for an ambulance to come to the scene. It is important to get the police to the scene so they can ensure you and others are safe while the crash is investigated. Also, if someone is injured, the police will ensure that emergency medical responders come to the scene to assess the injuries and if needed, transport the person injured to the hospital.
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Gather information
If you are not injured, you need to get the name, address, telephone number as well as insurance information of the drivers involved in the collision. You should also gather the name, address and telephone number of any persons who witnessed the collision. If the police complete a crash report, some of that information will be in the report but in many instances, it will not contain all the eyewitness information.
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Take photos at the scene
Given most everyone has a cellphone with a camera, it is important to take photographs of the vehicles involved in the collision as well as the accident scene. Make sure you take a photograph of the license plate of other vehicles involved in the collision so if there is later a question as to what vehicle were involved, you have photographic proof. If able, you should also take photographs of the damage to the vehicles. In many instances, the insurance company for the other driver will later argue the damage was not that bad and without photographs of the vehicles involved, it is more difficult to counter this argument.
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Seek medical treatment
If you are injured at the crash scene, you should seek medical treatment immediately. Sometimes, it can take 24-72 hours before your injuries start becoming apparent. If you are in pain, seek medical treatment. This is no time to tough it out.
Call 817-500-0990 to discuss your case
Types of Car Crashes
Some of the most common types of car wrecks in Texas are:
Read-end collisions. In the Fort Worth area, this type of collision is probably the most common type of car accident.
Head-on collisions. In 2019, there were 597 people killed in head-on crashes in Texas.
T-bone collisions. This is when one vehicle hits the side of the vehicle head-on or at an angle. It usually occurs at an intersection where someone failed to yield the right of way.
Multi-vehicle collisions. These involve more than two vehicles. A common type of multi-vehicle collisions are chain reaction rear-end collisions where a number of parties are following too closely.
Rollover crash. A rollover crash can have catastrophic consequences for the occupants of the vehicle. For those who are not wearing their seatbelts, they can be ejected from the car and even those who are properly belted, some roof crush into the passenger area could result in serious, life-threatening injuries.
Hit and Run crash. When somone hits you and leaves the scene of the crash, you will want to ensure you have uninsured motorist insurance coverage in case the hit and run vehicle cannot be identified.
Common Causes of Car Crashes
Common causes of car crashes in Texas are:
Speeding. As the old saying goes, speed kills.
Running a red light. It doesn’t take long driving in the Dallas Fort Worth metroplex to see how often people disregard a red light whether it is due to texting and driving or trying to beat the light.
Drifting out of Your Lane. This is the cause of many side-swipe collisions. Again, people are not paying attention due to distracted driving and drift out of their lane into the side of another vehicle.
Following Too Closely. This is probably one of the top reasons for rear-end collisions. Folks do not give enough distance between their car and the car in front of them. When the car in front of them brakes, they do not have enough time to stop before colliding into the rear end of the vehicle in front of them.
Distracted Driving. Drive down most roadways today and you are apt to see someone on their phone while they are driving. Some studies have shown that texting and driving is more dangerous than driving drunk. Both are a cause of many injuries and deaths on Texas roadways.
Drinking or Drugs. Driving under the influence of either alcohol or drugs is a criminal offense in addition to being a leading cause of injuries and deaths in Texas.
Driver fatigue. Driving a vehicle requires a lot of attention. If a person is fatigued and driving, it can result in serious consequences for everyone on the roadway.
Types of Injuries in Car Crashes
While each car wreck is different and the injuries people suffer are different, here are some of the types of injuries suffered in car wrecks in the Dallas Fort Worth area.
Broken bones
Chronic Pain
The Insurance Company Fight
Most people have no idea how expensive a car accident can be until they’re involved in one. Even a mild auto accident can easily add up to thousand of dollars in medical bills in addition to lost wages and property damage. What many people don’t expect is the difficulty of getting these bills paid. You probably think that if you’re injured in an auto accident, the insurance company will pay your bills. Insurance companies typically try to avoid paying. Some of the arguments you will hear from the insurance company are that the medical bills were too high, the medical treatment was not related to the accident, the medical treatment was not necessary, or your injuries were not that bad. These are typical from the insurance company whose job is to pay you as little as possible for your injuries. They are trained in what they do.
In addition to these arguments, you may also have trouble finding enough insurance coverage and may need to make an uninsured/underinsured claim against your own insurance company. The point is that unless you do this type of work for a living, you are facing an uphill battle representing yourself in these matters. You need the help of an experienced Fort Worth car accident attorney.
You Need An Experienced Attorney to Fight for You
Insurance companies are businesses. They’re in it to make money. An experienced personal injury attorney can value your case and make sure you get the automobile accident recovery you deserve. If you’re injured in a car accident, don’t risk being undersold by the insurance company; contact the Kisselburgh Law Firm to make sure you get the recovery you deserve. You can contact us online or call us today at 817-500-0990 for a FREE CONSULTATION.
CALL TODAY as valuable information can be lost unless an investigation is promptly done.
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