Rollover crashes are among the scariest types of car crashes, and they can lead to the most severe injuries. Many drivers and passengers can face life-long consequences after these car accidents.

Read on to learn more about rollover accidents, including what causes them, injuries you can sustain, how to minimize the risk of injuries, and how our car accident law firm can help you navigate the aftermath.

Rollover Car Accident Injuries

What Are Rollover Accidents?

According to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, a car accident qualifies as a rollover if the vehicle tipped on its side or roof. The car doesn’t need to completely roll over to be a rollover accident.

Rollover accidents are hazardous because of the potential for severe injuries to occur. The violent forces of impact can cause your body to:

  • Jerk in various directions
  • Hit hard surfaces quickly, repeatedly, and forcefully
  • Be impacted by the airbag deployment

These motions are often out of your control. Your body is moving with the car as it rolls over, and it can lead to head, neck, and other rollover car accident injuries as a result.

Common Causes of Rollovers

Rollover accidents can involve a single vehicle or multiple vehicles. Rollover accident statistics reveal the following as the most common causes of these types of accidents.

  • Collisions: The crash’s impact with other vehicles or objects can cause rollovers.
  • Speeding: The speed at which your car traveled before the accident can determine the likelihood of rolling over after impact. 
  • Sharp turns: Making quick, sharp moves while driving, especially at high speeds, can cause a car rollover accident. 
  • Vehicle type: SUVs, vans, trucks, semis, and other larger vehicles are more likely to be in a rollover accident because it has a higher center of gravity. 
  • Vehicle defects: Faulty brakes, electronic systems, and other problems can cause rollover accidents because the driver cannot operate the vehicle properly. 

Common Injuries in Rollover Crashes

Rollover car accidents can result in a variety of injuries. Below are the most common rollover auto accident injuries.

Head and Traumatic Brain Injuries

Head injuries are common after a rollover accident. The force of the impact can cause the following rollover accident injuries.

  • Concussions: Concussions can lead to confusion, loss of consciousness, nausea, headaches, and dizziness. 
  • Skull fractures: You can fracture or break your skull bone. Severe features could lead to serious complications, including seizures, brain bleeding, and more.
  • Traumatic brain injuries: If you hit your head hard enough, you can impact your brain tissue. Depending on the severity, it can alter how you think, behave, act, or move. 

If you hit your head during a car crash, you should seek medical attention to understand the full extent of your injuries. A Chicago brain injury attorney from our team can help you recover compensation for the medical expenses and pain and suffering sustained.

Spinal Cord Injuries

Some victims may face damage to their spinal cord after a rollover crash. The effects of this injury can be temporary or permanent and lead to severe complications. 

  • Paralysis: Depending on the location of the spinal cord injuries, you could lose the ability to move your legs, arms, and body.
  • Numbness: In a car rollover accident, you may lose sensation in select body parts.
  • Loss of control: You may be unable to control your bladder or bowel movements.

Spinal cord injuries often cause lifelong complications. A Chicago spinal cord injury attorney from our team can help you recover compensation, ensuring you have the financial support needed to rebuild your life. 

Neck and Back Injuries

As your neck and back move unnaturally, they can sustain damage during rollover car accidents. Common injuries can include:

  • Whiplash: The sudden movement during a rollover accident can cause the neck muscles and ligaments to get inflamed. 
  • Herniated discs: The discs between the bones in your spine may move out of place after a rollover car accident. 
  • Spinal fractures: Car accident victims can break their back. If treated properly, the injury may not lead to permanent damage.

These can be severe injuries that can impact your overall health and well-being. A Chicago back injury attorney from our team can provide the legal guidance and support you need to pursue compensation. 

Crush Injuries

The impact of the crash can cause crush injuries, which is when a body part becomes injured due to compression. The body part is often pressed between two objects, and the victim cannot move it or the object.

They can include:

  • Trapped limbs: Arms, legs, fingers, and other limbs can be captured between car parts or the impact site.
  • Internal organs: The body may be wedged between two surfaces, causing internal damage to the organs. 

Crush injuries vary due to the vehicle’s weight and the impact forces. A Chicago crush injury attorney from our team can help you navigate the legal process, gather evidence, and pursue compensation for any damages resulting from such injuries. 

Ejection Injuries

If a person is not wearing a seatbelt or the seatbelt becomes damaged, they could be ejected from the car. They can sustain ejection injuries as a result, including:

  • Cuts and bruising: The least severe injuries are surface cuts, scrapes, and bruising.
  • Road Rash: Road burns can result from contact with the pavement. It can be surface-level or cause muscle and bone damage.
  • Broken bones: When you hit the surface, you can break your legs, arms, hips, spine, and more.
  • Internal bleeding: The force of hitting something when being injected from the vehicle can cause internal damage, including internal bleeding. 

All other injuries discussed previously, including spinal cord injuries, traumatic brain injury, and back, head, and neck injuries, can also occur when ejected from the car. 

Factors Affecting Injury Severity in a Rollover Accident

The factors surrounding a rollover accident can impact the severity of your injuries. 

Use of Seatbelts

Seatbelts are the best first line of defense during a car crash. They help reduce the risk of being ejected from the car and hold the body in place. This can prevent severe injuries during rollover accidents. While you can sustain burns, bruising, and lacerations from a seat belt, these injuries are often less severe than if you had not been wearing one. 

Typically, all drivers and passengers must wear seatbelts in moving vehicles, though you should check your state’s regulations for your specific requirements. 

Vehicle Safety Features

Many vehicles have various safety features to help mitigate injuries sustained during rollover accidents. They include:

  • Airbags: Airbags are deployed to help provide cushioning during a crash. They can be located on the front or sides of driver and passenger seats. 
  • Rollover protection systems: These features can help increase a vehicle’s stability to prevent a rollover accident. 
  • Crumple zones: Many cars are designed with crumple zones to help absorb the impact of a car accident.

Given their higher center of gravity and increased risk of rollover crashes, heavy vehicles may have more safety features. 

Speed and Impact Angle

The circumstances of the accident, including the vehicle speed and angle of impact, can impact the level of injuries. The faster you travel, the more forceful the rollover crash will be. 

The impact angle can determine the direction your body moves during the crash. You may face more severe injuries if your body is moving in an unnatural direction. Rollover crashes that are head-on or from the side will impact injury severity.

Number of Rollovers

While a car must simply be on its side or ceiling to qualify as a rollover, the number of times it rolls over can impact the extent of a victim’s injuries. People whose cars simply tipped over may have less severe injuries compared to those whose cars rolled over multiple times. 

Legal Implications of Rollover Accidents

You may be able to seek financial compensation if you are in a rollover accident.   

Determining Liability

Determining liability is one of the most important aspects of a rollover accident claim. You have to prove who was at fault for the accident, which can include multiple parties.

  • At-fault driver: The person who caused the accident, often through negligence.
  • Vehicle owner: If someone other than the owner is driving, the vehicle owner can still be liable.
  • Vehicle manufacturer: If a defect caused the accident, the car company may be held responsible.
  • Government: If the road conditions were unsafe and led to a rollover car accident, the government, road designers, etc., can be sued. 

You can sue multiple parties if more than one person is responsible for the car crash. 

Product Liability Claims

You may also sue the vehicle manufacturer if the car was partially to blame for the accident under product liability. This can include design defects that made the car more likely to roll over or defective parts that failed and caused the accident.

Negligence Claims

You must prove that the at-fault driver was negligent in personal injury claims. Their reckless or careless driving breached their duty of care to others. As a result, their actions caused the accident and led to the damages listed in the lawsuit. 

Damages and Compensation

Victims can seek damages and compensation after a car accident to help support their recovery. This includes:

  • Medical expenses: Doctor’s bills, ambulance rides, physical therapy, medication, etc.
  • Pain and suffering: Intangible costs that impact a person’s quality of life. This can cause a loss of enjoyment of life, especially if you’ve sustained life-long injuries. 
  • Lost wages: If you cannot work due to the accident, you can get compensated for lost income.

You can recover damages for past, current, and future costs that you’ll incur due to the accident. 

The Role of a Personal Injury Lawyer

An auto accident attorney can help you navigate the aftermath of a rollover crash, holding the liable party responsible for the harm they caused. 

Investigating the Accident

An attorney from Rosenfeld Injury Lawyers can help investigate the cause of the rollover crash. We gather evidence to support a claim, including photos, police reports, medical records, witness statements, etc. 

Identifying Liable Parties

More people can be at fault than the driver, and we can help identify all potentially liable parties. This can include drivers, owners, manufacturers, employers, governments, cities, and other entities. 

Negotiating with Insurance Companies

Our Chicago auto insurance claim lawyers help negotiate with insurance companies to help you obtain fair compensation. We understand that the first offer is often the lowest, and they will advocate for you to get the best settlement. We will not rest until you get what you are owed. 

Pursuing Litigation

If a settlement cannot be reached out of court, our Chicago car crash lawyers will represent you through the legal process. Our trial attorneys help fight for your rights and defend you against the insurance company. 

Consult an Experienced Attorney!

If you or a loved one has been involved in a rollover car accident, Rosenfeld Injury Lawyers can help you understand your legal options and make recommendations to help you get justice. 

Call us at (888) 424-5757 or fill out our contact form to book a free consultation with a Chicago rollover accident attorney