Every year, thousands of emergency department visits take place due to motor vehicle accidents in Nevada. One of the most common types of collisions is a rear-end car accident. This type of crash can inflict serious injuries, including damage to the neck and spine. If you get involved in a rear-end collision in Las Vegas, explore your legal rights with help from an experienced Las Vegas car accident attorney.
What Is a Rear-End Collision?
A rear-end collision describes an accident between two motor vehicles that occurs when the car trailing behind another car crashes into the back of the first vehicle, often due to driver errors such as distracted driving and following too closely.
When a rear-end collision involves a large commercial truck, it can take the form of an underride accident, where the smaller car travels beneath the truck’s trailer, or an override accident, where the truck drives up and over the smaller car. These collisions can be catastrophic.
A rear-end collision can also cause a chain-reaction crash. This type of accident involves three or more vehicles. It occurs when the force of an initial rear-end collision is great enough to propel the vehicle struck into the car in front of it, and that car into the one in front of it, and so on.
Common Causes of Rear-End Car Accidents in Las Vegas
Rear-end car accidents are a preventable type of crash. If every driver paid attention to the road and maintained a safe following distance, motor vehicles would not collide in this manner. Unfortunately, drivers frequently make mistakes and reckless driving decisions that increase the odds of rear-end collisions.
The most common causes of these car accidents in Las Vegas include:
- Distracted driving, including texting and driving, personal grooming, and eating and drinking
- Tailgating or following too closely behind another motor vehicle
- Failing to maintain a safe or proper speed
- Driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol
- Driving while drowsy or fatigued
- A driver making a sudden stop
- Making unsafe lane changes or cutting other drivers off
- Unsafe road or weather conditions, such as wet roads
- A poorly maintained vehicle (e.g. bad brakes or broken taillights)
Rear-end collisions occur most often in heavy traffic. Bumper-to-bumper or stop-and-go traffic in Las Vegas can increase the odds of a driver following behind someone too closely and failing to stop in time to prevent a crash. Avoiding traffic-heavy areas in rush hour, such as the I-15, can help you avoid these collisions.
Rear-End Car Accidents Can Cause Serious Injuries
A rear-end collision has the potential to cause severe and even fatal injuries. The severity of a rear-end crash in Las Vegas depends on the speed of the collision, the point of impact and the vehicles involved. A rear-end collision involving a large and powerful big rig, for example, will likely result in more serious injuries than a crash involving smaller cars.
Common types of injuries often suffered in rear-end car accidents include:
- Whiplash and other neck injuries
- Back and spinal cord injuries
- Cervical spine injuries
- Spinal disk ruptures or herniation
- Broken bones
- Soft-tissue injuries
- Head and brain injuries, including concussions
- Chest and rib injuries
- Internal injuries
- Emotional or psychological injuries
A victim of a rear-end collision may experience seat belt syndrome: a pattern of injuries across the chest and hips or pelvis, caused by the force of the body's impact against the seat belt. If the rear-end collision is severe enough for airbags to deploy, the victim could also suffer airbag injuries to the face, head or torso.
Who Is At Fault for a Rear-End Car Accident?
Nevada is a fault state. This means that after any car accident, including a rear-end collision, fault must be determined before the injured victim can file an insurance claim. In most cases, the driver who rear-ended another vehicle is considered to be at fault for the crash.
Drivers have a legal obligation under Nevada Revised Statute § 484B.127 not to follow other vehicles “more closely than is reasonable and prudent, having due regard for the speed of such vehicles and the traffic upon and the condition of the highway.” If a motor vehicle operator violates this traffic law by following another driver too closely, this can result in a rear-end collision
Following too closely will not allow the rear driver enough time or space to bring the car to a complete stop before the point of impact. In many cases, the rearmost driver is also guilty of other acts of negligence that contribute to the rear-end collision, such as distracted driving or speeding.
However, fault is sometimes allocated, at least in part, to the driver of the frontmost vehicle. If the leading driver abruptly hits the brakes without cause (brake-checking), makes an unsafe lane change, cuts the rear driver off, or drives a vehicle that does not have working brake lights or taillights, this could be proof of fault against that driver.
Insurance Coverage Available for Rear-End Collisions in Las Vegas
In Nevada, every motor vehicle driver is required to carry certain amounts of liability insurance under the fault-based car insurance system. This insurance can be used to pay for the losses of others after an at-fault crash. If an injured rear-end accident victim can prove that the other driver is at fault, he or she may be eligible for at least the following amounts of insurance coverage:
- $25,000 for bodily injury to one person
- $50,000 for bodily injury to two or more persons (per accident)
- $20,000 for property damage repairs
If the at-fault driver does not have insurance, uninsured or underinsured motorist insurance can pay for the victim’s losses. It may also be possible to file a personal injury lawsuit against a driver for causing a rear-end collision. A lawsuit could result in a higher payout than an insurance settlement alone, such as damages for pain and suffering.
How a Car Accident Attorney in Las Vegas Can Help You
Recovering fair financial compensation for your losses as a victim of a rear-end car accident in Las Vegas may not be easy. Car insurance companies are notorious for trying to protect their own profits by rejecting valid claims and offering inadequate settlements.
You may need to hire a rear-end accident attorney in Las Vegas to help you seek a fair settlement from an insurance provider. You can trust your attorney to use proven legal strategies to achieve the best possible outcome for your case, while you concentrate on healing.
Schedule a free rear-end car accident case review with an experienced attorney at Edward Bernstein & Associates to discuss your rights.