Legal Considerations If You Are Involved in a Blind Spot Collision

Driving a vehicle largely relies on your sense of sight. However, what a driver sees while behind the wheel is actually extremely limited. They might not see you trying to cross a road as a pedestrian even if you are only a handful of inches away from them. Or they may not notice your vehicle while they’re switching lanes or shifting theirs into reverse gear. If you’ve been hit by a driver because you were in their blind spot, here are some legal considerations for you.

Liability for Injuries and Damages If the blind spot collision that you were involved in happened in a state with a fault-based auto insurance system, you can make the driver who hit you liable for any injuries and damages that they caused you. The driver who accidentally hit you may have a good excuse for colliding with you since you were in their blind spot at the time of the incident. However, that excuse doesn’t absolve them of any liability under the law. The driver could’ve prevented a blind spot collision between you and him from happening if only he had adjusted his side and rearview mirrors before going out on the road so he had a better view of his surroundings. He even could have installed a couple of special blind spot mirrors to his vehicle. As long as you didn’t do anything at all to cause the blind spot collision, the driver who hit you is at fault. Get the Insurance Company to Pay You can file a compensation claim against the insurance provider of the driver who hit you even if he claims he didn’t see you coming. Again, this is provided that the state in which the blind spot collision occurred follows a fault-based auto insurance system. Once you’ve proven that the driver’s negligence, particularly when he forgot to adjust his side and rearview mirrors to accommodate his blind spot, directly caused the blind spot collision and led to you being injured, you can make a compensation claim against his insurance provider. The at-fault driver’s insurance provider will then come up with an initial settlement amount after assessing how much money you’ve lost in wages or other damages as a result of the blind spot collision. But if the settlement amount offered to you isn’t enough to compensate for your medical costs and lost wages, you can proceed to the next legal consideration. Some states are no-fault states that don’t allow you to put the blame on the driver who hit you. The no-fault insurance system makes processing of compensation claims faster. In that case, you’ll have to skip this legal consideration and have your own insurance provider shoulder all the costs that you’ve incurred as a result of the blind spot collision that happened to you. Consider Settling Out of Court Most vehicular accidents – including blind spot collisions – often get settled out of court. You and the driver who had hit you might have to do the same. Lawsuits are expensive and time-consuming. As you or the driver who hit you may feel that the blind spot collision that you were involved in doesn’t warrant a full-scale trial, you can settle your differences outside of the confines of a courtroom. Any dispute regarding your compensation claim or any other thing that has to do with the blind spot collision that you got involved in can be settled either via mediation or arbitration. If you and the at-fault driver have come to an agreed final settlement amount, you can skip the next legal consideration. Filing a Lawsuit Against the Driver But if the driver who hit you isn’t amenable to an out of court settlement, you can file a lawsuit against him with a lawyer like the ones here. The driver may be insistent that he didn’t see you at all, so he may suppose that he doesn’t have any fault for the accident. They may even shift the blame to you for not being visible enough for him to avoid you. If the at-fault driver and their lawyer won’t negotiate with you and your lawyer face-to-face, you can lodge a formal complaint against them and make them pay you your rightful compensation. Filing a lawsuit, in general, doesn’t guarantee though that you’ll win it, so you should simply hope for the best but expect the worst. The Telegraph reported that blind spot collisions increased by as much as 48 percent between 2009 and 2011. But despite some vehicle manufacturers trying their best to reduce the number of blind spot collisions by equipping some of their products with either radar- or camera-based blind spot detection technology, the fact remains that you can still get in a blind spot collision when you least expect it. If you ever get involved in one, the above-listed legal considerations and the services of an accident lawyer can help you wade through your legal troubles with ease. Vicki Haskett Vicki is a law writing enthusiast who’s had over 25 years of experience in her field. She enjoys sharing her experiences with those who want to learn more about the legal world. In her spare time she spends quality time with her family and friends.