Learn the Forces behind Low Impact Auto Accidents
More than 50% of the cases the Napolin Law Firm are low impact auto accidents. Usually, it involves someone driving under 20 miles per hour and causing a fairly minor property damage. Having a low impact accident, however, does not mean people do not get injured badly. These accidents can cause varying types of injuries ranging from neck and back strains to serious spinal and joint issues. If you had an auto accident, with low impact, call an attorney because it is always better to be safe than sorry.
Understanding how Low Impact Auto Accidents Occur
According to California Office of Traffic Safety, more than 3,623 accidents occur in a year, with a mileage death rate of fatalities per 100 million miles traveled of 1.01. Fatalities usually occur in high-impact accidents. These often involve high-speed collisions. However, low impact auto accidents can also cause serious problems. To understand how that happens, you must understand the forces at work when it comes to automobile accidents. Low impact accidents often involve lower speeds and at cloer proximities. Typically, the car is operating at the range of 10-20 miles per hour. The average weight of an automobile is 2,000 pounds. Assuming the two automobiles involved in the accident weigh 2,000, the average impact force will be around 3.7 tons. The bigger the automobile, the higher the impact force will be. This leads to significant problems on drivers’ backs and necks.
Low impact accidents can be dangerous because of the law of physics. The principle of physics called magnification of acceleration provides that the time lag between the vehicle and the occupant motion puts you as an automobile occupant at great risk. Basically, the occupant of the vehicle that hit you will accelerate much faster than your impacted car, and hence, you will absorb the majority of the force involved in the impact.
Types of Low Impact Accident Injuries
It is true that low impact accidents do not result in very serious and fatal injuries. However, that does not mean that you will not be injured. Based on research, low impact auto accidents can affect the soft tissues in your neck and back. These include your ligaments, tendons and muscles. With appropriate and timely medical attention, these injuries can be treated fully. People with pre-existing injuries, or older drivers may have more serious implications from these accidents. This is because their bodies are more susceptible to injuries.
How can an Auto Accident Injury Attorney help
Many people believe that low impact accidents do not need legal representation. That is nothing but a fallacy. Low impact injuries may in fact be much harder to deal with on your own, than with a lawyer. And here is why. Low impact accidents cause little or noticeable property damage, which makes proving injuries a little more difficult and complex. Given the low impact, insurance companies often refuse and deny your injury claims. Therefore, you should hire an experienced car accident lawyer to navigate these issues for you.