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Motor vehicle accidents are one of the top causes of death in Colorado and throughout the United States. According to the Colorado Department of Transportation, 616 victims lost their lives in deadly traffic accidents in 2023. While any motor vehicle crash can turn deadly in the wrong circumstances, certain types of collisions result in fatalities more often than others. If a loved one is a victim of one of these fatal types of accidents, contact a Denver accident lawyer to explore your recovery options.
Large trucks are the most dangerous vehicles on the road. Commercial trucks are substantially larger and heavier than the average passenger car. This disparity means a great amount of force exerted upon the smaller car in an accident. Sadly, this can result in serious and fatal injuries to the occupants of the car.
One of the deadliest types of truck accidents is an underride accident, in which a smaller vehicle gets wedged underneath the trailer of a truck. This type of collision can be fatal since the trailer bed can slice through the top of the car, potentially resulting in decapitation or other deadly head and brain injuries.
Pedestrians are known as the most vulnerable road users, meaning they are at the highest risk of suffering serious and fatal injuries in traffic accidents. In 2023, 33 non-motorists lost their lives in accidents in Denver alone. This number includes vulnerable bicyclists, as well.
Pedestrian accidents are so deadly because victims have little to no protection from the force of the impact. Factors such as distracted driving, impaired driving, speeding and failure to yield the right-of-way contribute to pedestrian accidents.
Rollover accidents occur when a motor vehicle tips over onto its side, rolls onto its roof, or rolls 360 degrees one or multiple times. These accidents are particularly deadly for vehicle occupants, as they may involve multiple impacts, ejections from the vehicle and roof-crush injuries. Rollover accidents are more common in vehicles with high centers of gravity, such as SUVs.
In a motorcycle accident, a motorcyclist has little to no protection from injury. This results in much more significant – and often fatal – injuries. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration states that based on vehicle miles traveled in 2022, motorcyclists were 22 times more likely to die in motor vehicle crashes than passenger vehicle occupants.
Motorcyclists can suffer catastrophic injuries in accidents that they may not be able to recover from, such as traumatic brain injuries, spinal cord injuries and internal injuries. While wearing a helmet can decrease a motorcyclist’s risk of dying in an accident, a lack of protection on a motorcycle compared to an enclosed vehicle still makes this one of the deadliest types of crashes.
When one or both vehicles are speeding, this increases the force of the impact in a car accident. In a head-on collision, for example, the impact occurs at the combined speeds of both vehicles. Exceeding the speed limit or driving too fast for conditions can increase the severity of a car accident – simultaneously increasing the odds of a fatality. This is especially true when a driver is speeding in a dangerous area, such as at an intersection.
If you lost someone you loved in a tragic fatal car accident in Colorado, contact a Denver wrongful death attorney at Dormer Harpring, LLC for a free case consultation. We can help you understand your rights after a deadly motor vehicle accident.