There is a misconception among people that a majority of car accidents take place due to weather hazards. It is true that a good number of road accidents can be attributed to weather conditions but only in places that experience inclement weather. The main causes for car accidents all across the nation include factors like road rage, speeding, aggressive, drunk or distracted driving, fatigued driving and so on. In other words, it is not the weather or road conditions, but motorists themselves who are responsible for a large majority of car accidents.
And this is all the more true for car accidents in Corpus Christi, TX. If you’ve suffered injuries in a Corpus Christi auto accident that occurred due to the negligence of another driver, you may be entitled to receive proper compensation for all the physical and mental suffering, damages and expenses resulting from the accident.
At The Burkett Law Firm, our experienced auto accident lawyers are ready to take up your cause and aggressively represent you in and out of court so you may obtain a proper settlement. The Burkett Law Firm boasts of an envious track record of handling auto accident cases, recovering over fifty million dollars for our clients. Our clients never pay any costs unless we recover compensation for them. Some of our recent and noteworthy successes include:
- $6 million for a parking lot pedestrian accident
- $5 million for a trucking accident death
- $2.5 million for a pedestrian accident
Read on to learn more about the various causes of car accidents in Corpus Christi and how our experienced car accident lawyers can help you recover compensation for your injuries and damages.
Common Causes of Corpus Christi Car Accidents
Speeding
Speeding is responsible for over a quarter of all fatal car accidents on Corpus Christi streets. Speeding does not refer only to driving faster than the designated speed limit but it also means that the motorist was driving faster than is considered safe on busy city streets, highway lanes, or during certain weather conditions.
Tailgating
You tailgate when you follow the vehicle immediately ahead of you too closely. This means if the driver of the car ahead brakes or slows down all of a sudden, you, as the tailgater, won’t have enough time and distance to prevent a car accident by braking or by taking recourse to some other evasive maneuver. Tailgating is the most common cause of rear-end accidents and the latter, according to reports published, account for more than 28% of all road crashes in the US. A majority of rear-end accidents result in minor injuries, but it is not uncommon for drivers to suffer serious injuries or death even.
Distracted Driving
Distracted driving typically refers to three types of distractions:
- Manual: when the motorist takes his hand(s) off the wheel (e.g. texting while driving);
- Cognitive: the driver is not paying attention to safe driving norms (e.g. daydreaming); and
- Visual: the driver is averting his eyes from the road (e.g. texting while driving).
Using cell phones (reading messages, answering calls, texting, etc.) while driving leads to all three kinds of distractions mentioned above. This is why many states, including Texas, have already banned the use of cell phones while driving.
Alcohol Impairment
Drunk driving is another of those evils that law enforcement officers find tough to handle, for all their efforts and actions. However, alcohol impairment does not only refer to drunk driving (as the latter is legally defined). The impairment already takes place when the BAC or blood alcohol content in your body is still within legal limits. For example, the legal limit in Corpus Christi stands at 0.08 BAC. However, studies show that even at 0.02 BAC, the motorist may already suffer from reduced ability to concentrate on the road and to multitask. And at 0.10 BAC and more, he will be suffering from a substantial loss in his facility to control the vehicle and adhere to safe driving standards.
Drugged Driving
In addition to alcohol, impaired ability to drive safely can be caused by various types of substance abuse. And the drug in question needn’t necessarily have to be illegal. Even over-the-counter or prescription drugs can significantly affect one’s ability to operate a vehicle safely. Depending on the type of drug used, the driver may feel drowsy or over-aggressive or too elated and so on. However, all of these can potentially lead to serious car accidents.
Fatigued Driving
When the driver of a car doesn’t have enough sleep or is too exhausted (due to work or for other reasons), this invariably leads to fatigued driving. And when you are fatigued, you suffer from impaired judgment and your ability to drive safely is seriously compromised.
Failure To Yield
Failure to yield right-of-way accounts for as many as 30 percent of all fatal car accidents in the U.S. All motorists are expected to yield the right of way to other roadway or street users (meaning both vehicles and pedestrians) in most conditions, including:
- at a stop sign;
- at a flashing yellow or red light;
- at marked crosswalks;
- when backing out of a driveway or a parking space;
- when making a U-turn and so on.
Road Rage & Aggressive Driving
Road rage and aggressive driving are not synonymous. The former is often deliberate and includes all sorts of roguish (and often criminal) behaviors but they seldom lead directly to car accidents, although they do lead to enough injuries and fatalities (one report, for instance, attributes over 12,000 injuries and 200 murders in the U.S. during a 7-year timeframe to behaviors that are defined as road rage).
Aggressive driving behaviors (such as tailgating, cutting someone off, running a red light, improper lane changes, speeding), on the other hand, are not directly deliberate. All the same, here is something to take note of: aggressive driving behaviors result in more than 66% of all road fatalities in the U.S.
Pursuing Compensation For A Corpus Christi Car Accident
No matter what the cause, if you have been injured due to someone’s carelessness, negligence, or recklessness, you have the right to seek compensation for the damages caused to you through the accident. You’ll need to initiate a personal injury claim with the aim to establish that the other driver involved in the accident was the party at-fault and is thus liable to pay the compensation as settled by the court.
In order to prove that the other party was at-fault, you’ll need to show a breach took place in the “duty of care.” This means that the party responsible for the accident violated their “duty of care”, and that they committed some action that led to the accident.
Recovering Damages After A Corpus Christi Car Accident
Damages in these cases refer to both monetary (medical bills, lost wages, etc.) and non-monetary damages (emotional suffering and pain, mental trauma, impaired ability to live and enjoy life in an active manner).
Monetary Damages
- Medical expenses
- Lost wages
- Potential loss of future earnings
- Cost of replacing or repairing your vehicle
Non-Monetary Damages
In addition to monetary losses, a serious car accident can severely impact the condition of your present life. You may lose a steady companion and/or friends; may have to give up hobbies that were important to you; it can also affect your relationship with your immediate family members. In short, injuries from a car accident can drastically affect the whole of your current life. As such, you must seek compensation. And the best way to do that is to let an experienced Corpus Christi car accident lawyer handle and prepare your case and represent you at court, if necessary.
Pursue Compensation For A Corpus Christi Car Accident Today
At The Burkett Law Firm, every case is personal. Our car accident lawyers have been representing injured accident victims since 1960 so if you’ve been injured in a car accident in Corpus Christi due to someone’s negligent actions, contact our experienced auto accident lawyers today. We’ll review the facts of your case, assess what your case is worth, and help you take the next steps to pursue compensation. Call (361) 882-8822 or contact us online for a free consultation today.