The Most Common Locations for Car Accidents

Every year, about 39 million people require medical attention for a variety of personal injuries. Shapiro, Appleton & Washburn have been advocating for injured clients for more than 35 years. At our firm, we only practice personal injury law and we only represent the victims, never the at-fault parties. Although there are many types of accidents that can result in a personal injury claim, the most common are car accidents.

There are about 6 million car accidents that happen each year, resulting in about 3 million car accident injury victims. Two million of those victims end up with permanent injuries. Many of the car accident cases our firm has handled over the years have similarities that can help drivers stay aware of these factors and help avoid being injured in a crash. One of these factors is location. While a car accident can occur anywhere, there are certain locations where the risk of crashes tends to rise substantially:

Intersections: Intersections are the most frequent locations for car accidents. This is often because drivers fail to pay attention or become confused over who has the right of way. Other causes of intersection accidents are vehicle drivers who run red lights or stop signs or otherwise fail to yield the right of way.

Highways: Highway accidents are often the most catastrophic, usually because of the higher rate of speeds that vehicles are traveling. Speeding is one of the major causes of highway accidents, as well as aggressive driving. For some reason, otherwise law-abiding citizens get on a highway and think they have the right to jump lane to lane at high speeds, putting themselves and everyone else at a high risk of becoming seriously injured or killed in a crash. Rear-end accidents are also fairly common on highways due to the common occurrence of sudden traffic jams (especially during rush hour) when a driver is either not paying attention or is driving too fast to slow down or stop as they approach stopped traffic. Rear-end accidents are also common at other accident sites, as vehicle drivers slow down to look at the crash scene.

Parking lots: Parking lots and other private areas are also common car accident locations. Most of these accidents are caused by drivers failing to pay attention to what is going on around them, often because they are too busy looking for an empty parking space. Other accident causes are drivers not looking behind them as they pull out of a space or parking too close to another vehicle.

Let a Virginia Car Accident Attorney Help

If you have been injured in a car accident, not only do you have to deal with the physical and emotional effects of the accident, but you are likely dealing with the financial consequences, as well. Injured victims often have high medical bills as a result of the treatments their injuries require. Depending on how serious those injuries are, recovery typically includes staying out of work until the injuries have healed. This means no weekly paycheck for many victims.

If the crash was caused by another party who behaved recklessly or negligently, Virginia allows victims to take legal action in order to be financially compensated for all of these financial expenses. Victims can also pursue damages for losses that are not economic, such as pain and suffering, scarring emotional anguish, and more.

If you would like to discuss your situation, contact our office to speak with a seasoned Virginia car accident attorney. Shapiro, Appleton & Washburn has been advocating for accident victims for more than three decades and will work diligently to get you the compensation you deserve.

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