Rollover Accident Lawyer Richmond, VA

A rollover accident occurs when a vehicle rolls over and either lands on its side or roof or rolls over multiple times, occasionally landing on its wheels again. The likelihood of injuries in such an accident is high, and serious injuries or fatalities are common.

Statistics show that most rollover accidents occur in top-heavy vehicles such as sport-utility vehicles, large trucks, light trucks, buses, and jeeps. The fallout from such accidents, permanent injuries, and fatalities, often leads to litigation in the form of lawsuits against other involved drivers, and against vehicle manufacturers for faulty design or the lack of proper safety equipment.

If you or someone you know is involved in a rollover accident, it is imperative that a qualified, Richmond personal injury attorney is consulted and retained as soon as possible to protect your legal rights.

How Rollover Accidents Happen

Generally speaking, rollover accidents can be divided into two categories, tripped rollovers and untripped rollovers.

  • Tripped rollovers happen when an outside force collides with the vehicle and causes the vehicle to flip over. Colliding with another vehicle or a street curb will typically be the cause of most tripped rollovers.
  • Untripped rollovers happen due to factors such as 1) slippery pavement caused by water, ice, or other debris, and 2) the lack of friction and grip between a vehicle’s tires and the road. Lack of friction can occur as a result of erratic steering, hydroplaning, bald tires, or debris on the road surface.

Crash scene investigations and studies by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) report a small percentage of rollover incidents where experts could not determine the cause of those accidents.

Liability for a Rollover Accident

Responsibility for causing a rollover crash will carry with it the liability to compensate those injured as a result of the crash. Determining the cause of the accident and the responsible party is extremely important in order to recover financial compensation for those affected by the incident.

Possible responsible parties could include:

  • the driver whose car collided with another car first
  • a careless driver who was driving dangerously and rolled over the vehicle in an untripped rollover
  • a vehicle manufacturer who put a defectively designed or constructed vehicle into the stream of commerce
  • the manufacturer of a defectively designed part that failed in the vehicle that caused the incident
  • a repair facility that was negligent in performing a repair that was eventually found to cause the rollover.

If you or a loved one has been involved in a rollover accident or any other type of motor vehicle accident, please contact us at the law firm of Marks & Harrison as soon as possible to schedule your free consultation. Our attorneys have helped hundreds of victims when faced with the aftermath of car accidents and we are committed to helping our clients seek the maximum compensation possible.

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