Call Now 202-960-4596
Maryland, Virginia, and Washington DC see millions of travelers on their highways every day. With many drivers comes a high possibility of car accidents. Unfortunately, accidents caused by wrong-way drivers happen often. If you google “wrong-way driver accident” in Maryland, Virginia, or Washington, DC, chances are you’ll see an article about a recent accident in your neighborhood. Wrong-way driving accidents are extremely dangerous and often deadly.
If you or your loved one were injured by a wrong-way driver, the car accident lawyers at Regan Zambri Long can help you recover compensation for your injuries. While you focus on your recovery, your lawyer will prepare the claim, investigate the accident, build your case, negotiate with the insurance companies, and take your case to trial if necessary.
The days and weeks following a major car accident are stressful – let the Regan Zambri Long car accident lawyers take the claims process off your plate. Call for a free consultation with an experienced DC car accident lawyer to get your claim started.
There is no single cause of a car accident. While some accidents cannot be prevented, many times they are completely avoidable. This is especially the case with wrong-way car accidents. At Regan Zambri Long, we firmly believe you should not foot the bill for someone else’s negligence. If your wrong-way car accident was caused by one of the following reasons, reach out today for your free case evaluation:
We have all learned the dangers of driving under the influence of drugs and alcohol. However, when it comes to wrong-way driving accidents, it’s one of the primary causes of injuries and fatalities. According to the National Transportation Safety Board, driving under the influence accounts for 60% of wrong-way driving accidents.
When a driver operates a vehicle while impaired by drugs or alcohol, their reaction times are slower. Their judgment and reasoning are off. Because they are cognitively impaired, many drivers fail to obey simple traffic laws or read different road signs. The driver can easily mistake or ignore signals or signs and end up going the wrong way on the highway.
In 2019 alone, over 400,000 people were injured in a car accidents due to distracted driving. Distracted driving is, very, unfortunately, all too common in Maryland, Virginia, Washington DC, and across the United States. Drivers are constantly losing focus on the road to check their cell phones, fiddle with radio stations, eat, put on makeup, or speak to other passengers. While you are driving, your sole focus should be on the task at hand: getting from one destination to the next as safely as possible.
If a driver is not paying attention to signs and the flow of traffic (especially if they are looking down at their phones!) they can easily mistake a turn, or drift into the opposite lane causing a wrong-way driving accident.
Drivers over 70 years old have a higher crash rate than younger drivers. Poor vision, cognitive challenges, slow reflexes, and confusion can cause the senior citizen to become anxious behind the wheel and make a terrible mistake.
When roads and highways are not properly marked, or if bad lighting does not allow the driver to see the signs, a wrong-way accident can occur. For example, if the lighting is bad or there is no signage, a driver may not be able to determine if a ramp is an exit or an entrance.
It is up to the town, city, or state to properly display their signs so they are clear for drivers. If your accident was caused by bad lighting or poor signage, you may have a case against the municipality where your accident happened. Your Regan Zambri Long car accident lawyer will be able to give you expert legal advice on how to file a claim against the local, state, or federal government.
Bad weather can affect driving in various ways. If a driver is operating his or her car in a downpour or a heavy snowfall, their visibility will be limited, possibly causing a wrong-way car crash.
Other causes of wrong-way crashes are:
The type of crash wrong-way driving accidents usually cause is a head-on collision. Head-on collisions are when two vehicles, traveling in opposite directions, slam into each other. While head-on collisions only account for 2% of car accidents in the country, they make up at least 10% of all car accident fatalities. In other words, head-on collisions are deadly.
The injuries a head-on collision victim can suffer are usually severe and life-changing. These injuries can include:
Living with these serious injuries can cause the victim to have to miss days, weeks, months, or even years of work. In the worst cases, the injured person may never be able to return to his or her job. On top of losing a paycheck, there are sudden, new finances you may have to face after the wrong-way crash:
The first is mounting medical bills. An emergency room visit can cost over $1,000. If your injuries require surgery, you could face medical bills of up to $175,000 for the surgery alone. If you are left with a traumatic brain injury or suffer paralysis from the wrong-way crash, you could have to pay up to $1,000,000 in the first year after the accident.
Medical bills are not the only expenses a wrong-way driver accident victim may need to face. If you were left permanently disabled from your injuries (i.e. you were paralyzed from a spinal cord injury) you may need to invest in remodeling your home to accommodate new equipment. Making a home wheelchair accessible can cost up to $30,000.
A head-on collision will most likely total the vehicle you were driving and damage anything valuable that was inside of it.
These expenses may seem overwhelming, but a Regan Zambri Long car accident lawyer can help ensure you recover enough compensation to offset all these costs. Your lawyer will fight for you to recover damages for:
Call today for your free consultation with one of our compassionate lawyers who will discuss every legal option you have.
The Regan Zambri Long law firm has been in business for over 30 years, helping thousands of clients secure the compensation they need to get their life back on track. Our lawyers have not only secured millions for our clients ($14 million for a car accident), but we also create an environment where our clients know they are taken care of and protected.
At Regan Zambri Long, our mission is to fight for your rights, while keeping you informed every step of the way. Your car accident lawyer will be available to you any time you want to speak and we will make sure you fully understand every step of the process. Our client testimonials speak for themselves: we are known to be available to our clients and look out for their well-being while we negotiate their cases.
Our car accident lawyers practice in Maryland, Virginia, and Washington, DC. We are experts in the local, state, and federal laws, as well as various insurance policies throughout the DC Metro Area. Call our wrong-way driver accident lawyer today for your free consultation. Let us help you recover what is rightfully yours.
