What Is a Head-On Collision?

A frontal or head-on collision occurs when the front ends of two vehicles traveling in opposite directions collide. These are among the most dangerous motor vehicle accidents because the combined speeds of the vehicles create a high-power impact that can cause severe injuries and fatalities.

After a head-on collision, it’s important to seek immediate legal advice if you’ve suffered an injury or lost a loved one. Consulting a Morgantown head-on collision lawyer will help you understand your legal options to recover financial losses and non-monetary damages caused by the crash.

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What Causes Head-On Collisions?

While some accidents may result from defective parts, almost all crashes are caused by driver negligence. Several factors can cause head-on collisions, including distracted and impaired driving, driving the wrong way, center-line crossovers, speeding, improper passing, ignoring traffic signals, and weather and road conditions.

Distracted Driving

Distracted driving is a leading cause of motor vehicle accidents, including head-on collisions. The introduction of smartphones has heightened distractions, with notifications begging for drivers’ attention at an alarming rate.

Cell phone use behind the wheel is deadly, from talking to texting, scrolling social media, uploading video content, and using music streaming, GPS, and other apps while driving. Other types of distractions behind the wheel involve:

• Eating and drinking
• Adjusting radio and climate controls
• Daydreaming
• Listening to something, such as music, books, podcasts, ball games, and political news shows
• Being emotional behind the wheel
• Talking or listening to passengers
• Personal grooming, like applying make-up, tweezing, brushing hair, and shaving
• Looking at events, such as car crashes and construction outside of the vehicle, also called rubbernecking
• Moving objects, such as pets and items rolling around on the floorboards
• Reaching for something in the vehicle

Smoking cigarettes or vaping behind the wheel is another significant cause of distracted driving, causing head-on collisions. A study published by the National Institutes of Health reports that smoking produces a remarkable risk for road safety behind the wheel. Shockingly, the study also determined that smoking created a greater safety risk than using a cellular phone.

Impaired Driving

Impaired driving is another leading cause of head-on collisions today—drunk driving and driving when fatigued are major causes of impairment accidents. However, drivers can be impaired by legal cannabis, prescription and over-the-counter medications, and various illegal narcotics and drugs. Certain medical conditions also qualify as driver impairment when symptoms cause accidents.

Driving the Wrong Way 

Driving the wrong way down the street can result from motorist impairment, distraction, or unfamiliarity with where they are traveling. Driving on the wrong side of the street can occur on rural roads and freeways. Unfortunately, it’s common for impaired drivers to drive the wrong way onto highway on-ramps, and it is responsible for causing head-on collisions.

Center-Line Crossover

Center-line crossovers are another typical behavior of impaired or distracted drivers that causes head-on collisions. These occur on roads without medians or barriers separating the lanes, making it easy for unsafe motorists to drift into oncoming traffic.

Speeding

Speeding is a form of reckless driving that causes head-on collisions and other motor vehicle accidents every day. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reports speeding is responsible for 28 percent of fatal accidents, 13 percent of injury collisions, and 9 percent of property-only crashes.

Improper Passing

Improper passing is another significant cause of head-on collisions. Motorists who misjudge the time it takes to pass a vehicle safely on a two-lane road or ignore double yellow lines and no-passing zones may be unable to avoid a collision with an approaching vehicle.

Ignoring Traffic Signals

Whether distracted or reckless, drivers who miss or ignore traffic signals are responsible for causing head-on collisions. Motorists who try to beat the light change instead of slowing to a stop for safety are particularly dangerous behind the wheel.

Weather and Road Conditions 

Hazardous weather and road conditions can contribute to the cause of a head-on collision. Wet and icy pavement can cause a vehicle to maneuver into oncoming traffic. Additionally, potholes, shoulder drops, faded paint markings, lack of guardrails, poor lighting, and inadequate signage are poor road conditions that cause crashes.

What to Do After a Head-On Collision

There are several health and legal precautions that accident victims should take after involvement in a head-on collision. Injury victims or those seeking compensation after the wrongful death of a loved one must —seek medical attention, follow recovery care plans, report the collision to their insurer, document all injuries and damages, and hire an experienced lawyer to maximize their payout.

Seek Medical Attention

Regardless of how you feel after a head-on collision, seeking immediate medical attention is vital. It’s an important first step in ensuring your health and legal rights to compensation.

Ask a doctor to perform a comprehensive medical evaluation to assess all symptoms and injuries after the crash. Injuries common with head-on collisions include:

• Traumatic brain injuries (TBIs) —including brain swelling, concussions, and mental health issues.
• Spinal cord injuries —fractured and dislocated vertebrae that result in partial or complete paralysis.
• Broken bones —can require surgeries and long-term rehabilitation care.
• Internal organ damage —including damage to the liver, spleen, and kidneys.
• Psychological trauma —including anxiety, depression, fear of driving (Vehophobia), and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

Whiplash is another common injury associated with head-on collisions that involve a rapid snapping of the head on impact. This snapping can cause soft tissue damage and create pain and chronic pain conditions that, while valid, can be more difficult to detect. Proper documentation of these injuries is vital for proving pain and suffering.

Follow Your Recovery Health Care Plan

After being evaluated by a physician, it’s important to follow their discharge instructions and medical recovery care plan. Your recovery plan may involve referrals to surgeons and specialists who will help repair and rehabilitate your injuries.

Make your appointments and do the work. Many injuries take days to develop and can become fatal or create significant health complications if left undiagnosed or untreated. Don’t delay your recovery because prioritizing something else in your life feels more important first.

Document Your Injuries and Damages

To secure financial compensation for your injuries and losses incurred from the head-on collision, you must document your injuries and damages. Keep a post-accident journal and include dated and detailed entries documenting:

• Description of your head-on collision, including details and any photos of the accident scene, vehicle damage, and your injuries immediately following the crash.
• Reporting on pain levels, such as chronic pain issues, any limitations the pain causes, and activities that worsen pain and suffering.
• Sleep disturbances, including pain, traumatic nightmares, insomnia, and hypersomnia (excessive sleeping).
• Psychological trauma and emotional distress, such as fear, anxiety, depression, and PTSD.
• Decreased quality of life, including an inability to perform daily tasks or to enjoy things you once loved.

You should also document all medical and rehabilitation appointments, including travel time and expenses. Keep copies of receipts and billing statements that make proving economic losses, like medical bills and vehicle repairs or replacement, simple. A well-detailed post-accident journal will help your lawyer establish negligence and actual damages.

Report Your Accident to Your Insurance Company

Most insurance companies require accident victims to report their involvement in head-on collisions within 30 days of the crash. So, while it’s on your to-do list following an accident, don’t prioritize it before your health. Obtaining a lawyer allows accident victims to delegate all communications with insurers to their legal representation and is highly advised.

Hire an Experienced Head-On Collision Lawyer

After receiving medical treatment, consult a lawyer immediately to represent your legal rights. Most car accident attorneys work on contingency. There are no upfront costs to retain legal counsel, and there is no risk to you if they don’t win your case, as they only get paid if you do.

Offering contingency arrangements allows head-on collision lawyers to provide legal counsel for everyone, regardless of financial situation. Schedule a free consultation today.

What Not to Do After a Head-On Collision

Now that you understand what to do after a head-on collision, knowing what not to do is imperative. For example, delaying or avoiding medical care, ignoring medical limitations and restrictions, making posts on social media about your crash, and talking to liable insurance companies can all make your head-on collision worse.

Delay or Avoid Medical Care

Delaying or avoiding medical care can be a fatal mistake for head-on collision victims. Reasons not to delay or avoid being medically evaluated include:

• Identifying hidden injuries
• Preventing long-term or permanent effects from untreated injuries
• Ensuring undiagnosed and untreated injuries don’t become fatal
• Proving peace of mind that you are injury-free or are receiving adequate medical care for your injuries
• Legal reasons, including the right to seek substantial financial compensation
• Insurance claim reasons, including the need for documentation of injuries

Adrenaline is a hormone that is commonly produced after a head-on collision. It’s also a powerful pain deterrent that may mask discomfort and other injury-related symptoms. Don’t delay medical care because you feel alright or not that bad or because you are one of those people who refuse to go to the doctor. It may have detrimental consequences.

Ignore Medical Limitations and Restrictions

If your doctor advises you on limitations or restrictions, you mustn’t ignore them. Ignoring them can worsen injuries, complicate recovery timelines, and increase personal liability. Common limitations and restrictions entail:

• Physical activity, including working out and lifting children
• Daily activities, such as housework and other chores
• Work responsibilities, including heavy lifting, squatting, bending, pushing, and standing for long periods

Additionally, a physician may prescribe medications that limit or prohibit your ability to drive or operate heavy machinery—ignoring these limitations and restrictions risks worsening injuries and recovery time. It may also indicate to liable insurers that you’re not experiencing pain or injuries, prompting them to deny liability.

Make Posts on Social Media

It’s highly advised that accident victims refrain from posting on social media, especially about their head-on collision. Unfortunately, insurers and defense lawyers can easily access your posts and use them against you.

Insurance companies and attorneys can misinterpret posts to suggest an exaggeration or fabrication of injuries and damages. For example, they may claim photos of you looking happy means you’re not injured.

They may also use check-ins to places against you. For example, if you check into the gym but are only there to pay your bill and get a protein shake, the evidence still suggests you’re not injured.

These social media posts and misinterpretations allow insurers and defense lawyers to deny liability, providing zero compensation for injuries. Don’t make posts on social media. If you’ve already been updating your followers, consult a personal injury attorney right away. They will inform you of your next legal steps.

Talk to Liable Insurance Companies

Don’t fall for shady insurance tactics to get you to admit partial or total liability. You’re not required to speak to liable insurers or make recorded statements despite what they may otherwise suggest.

If you’ve already spoken to the at-fault party’s insurer or provided them with a recorded statement, consult an attorney immediately. They will best advise you on what to do next and intercept all further communications so you aren’t put into calculated situations that may get your insurance compensation claim denied.

How a Head-On Collision Car Accident Attorney Will Help

An experienced personal injury lawyer will protect your legal rights while demanding fair compensation for financial losses and damages from your head-on collision. Other ways an attorney will help you after an accident include:

Jeff Robinette, Car Accident Lawyer in Morgantown

• Compassionate case evaluation and legal plan to secure compensation
• Thorough investigation into your head-on collision
• Gathering and preservation of evidence
• Accident reconstruction to determine and prove negligence
• The total valuation of your accident claim for maximum settlement payouts
• Working with various expert witnesses to prove injuries and damages
• Negotiations with all liable insurers and other parties
• Legal representation at trial if your case goes to court

Schedule Your Free Consultation Today
Injury victims and family members who experienced the wrongful death of a loved one due to a head-on collision should schedule a free consultation with Morgantown personal injury lawyer. You’ll want to discuss your legal rights, including the right to financial compensation for your loss.

Jeff Robinette( West Virginia Personal Injury Attorney )

Jeffery Robinette was admitted to practice law in 1991 and is licensed in all levels of state and federal trial courts in West Virginia. Mr. Robinette is also licensed in all state and federal appeals courts in West Virginia and the United States Supreme Court. As a National Board Certified Trial Attorney who has handled hundreds of motor vehicle, injury, and construction defect claims and a leading author on insurance claims settlement issues and difficulties in West Virginia, Jeff Robinette is uniquely qualified to represent your best interest.