As our love for SUVs has grown in Oklahoma City, so have the number of Oklahoma rollover accidents. All vehicles may be involved in an Oklahoma rollover accident, but SUVs, trucks, and vans, with their higher center of gravity and a narrower axle base, are especially prone to tipping.
A higher center of gravity and narrower axle base make the vehicle less stable in sharp turns or with sharp changes of direction. Add high rates of driver speed to the mix and the result is often an Oklahoma rollover accident.
What Causes an Oklahoma Rollover Accident?
An Oklahoma rollover accident can be either “tripped” or “untripped.” Most rollovers are of the “tripped” kind.
In a tripped rollover, the vehicle starts moving sideways, usually either because another car hits the vehicle (often from the side) starting the slide, or one side of the vehicle rides up on something, a guardrail, soft soil, gravel, or the like. In either case, once the vehicle loses stability, it is likely to tip over.
Injuries
The nature of an Oklahoma rollover accident causes more severe injuries. The vehicle tips onto its side or all the way over onto its roof.
As a result, the driver or passengers suffer far more injuries and far more severe injuries than in a vehicle that remains upright. A rollover can crush the roof, causing severe head and neck injuries and death.
Liability Questions
These are often complex cases involving the product, possible driver error, and environmental factors like the weather and road conditions. Understanding these factors and how they played out in the accident is critical.
Often, an Oklahoma rollover accident is the result of a chain of events. It is important to understand the chronology of these events in determining liability.
Liability will ultimately be assigned to either the driver of the rolled vehicle, the driver of another vehicle, the manufacturer of the rolled vehicle, or to a city/county if the problem lies in the construction or condition of the roadway. In an Oklahoma City personal injury case, it is also possible that liability may be shared among all these parties.
It is important to understand what caused the vehicle to start its sideways motion. If the cause of the sideways motion is impact from another vehicle, it is likely that the driver of the other vehicle may be held liable.
If the sideways motion started with a mechanical problem in the car that rolled, such as the wheel lock, or other defect, it may be that the manufacturer and/or dealer of the vehicle will be held liable.
If there is some driver error on the part of the driver of the rolled vehicle, that error will have to be weighed. Such error can be excessive speed for the roadway or other driving conditions. If that error was more than 50% of the cause, the driver of the rolled vehicle may be found to be at fault.
Free Consultation: Oklahoma City Personal Injury Attorney
If you are the victim of a car accident, contact a qualified Oklahoma City personal injury attorney to evaluate your case.
For a free, no-risk consultation with the Personal Injury Law Office of Oklahoma City, call today: 405-716-4878 (716-HURT).
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