What is the far-side impact crash? It’s a car accident that causes death and injuries to passengers and the driver that are seated on the opposite side of where the vehicle is hit. Most people call this type of car accident a T bone accident while the automotive industry refers to it as a side impact collision and far-side impact car crash.
Todd Tracy presented a paper on the far-side impact car crash at the American Bar Association’s (ABA) Emerging Issues in Motor Vehicle Product Liability Litigation Program. Speaking to personal injury lawyers at the ABA Tort Trial and Insurance Practice Section (TIPS) in Phoenix, Arizona, Tracy demonstrated how to build a vehicle crashworthiness case against auto manufacturers. Vehicle crashworthiness is the science of preventing or minimizing serious injuries or death following an accident through the use of the vehicle’s safety systems.
The far-side impact car crash occurs more frequently, resulting in severe head injuries, chest injuries and abdominal injuries that are often the cause of a fatal car accident. The driver typically suffers a head injury such as traumatic brain injury. Studies have shown that nearly two-thirds of the front passengers seated opposite the far side impact or T bone accident suffer chest and abdominal injuries. The upper torso of the body often slips out of the lap/shoulder seat belt restraint system causing them to strike the hard surfaces of the vehicle’s interior.
Tracy also explained to the personal injury lawyers how defense attorneys for the big auto manufacturers will try to misdirect the jury’s attention to the other driver who was at fault in the accident. Todd Tracy emphasizes that the Tracy Law Firm does not care who caused the accident, they focus on who caused the severe injuries or death. And in his cases, that is the fault of the car maker who put an unsafe vehicle on the road that failed to protect the driver and passengers.
You can download Todd’s presentation here.
