Indiana Tailgating Accident Lawyers

Car accidents may be inevitable in Indiana, where 206,936 crashes took place in 2022 alone, and the vehicles of the victims are especially likely to be struck from behind. Indeed, rear-end collisions account for more than 22.5 percent of motor vehicle accidents throughout the state, and they usually happen when the trailing driver is following too closely or “tailgating.”

While you may be eligible to obtain compensation if you have been injured by a tailgating driver in Indiana, success isn’t automatic. However, you can tip the odds in your favor by reaching out to the car accident lawyers at Hensley Legal Group, PC, a dedicated Indiana personal injury law firm whose experienced attorneys have been fighting on behalf of the wrongfully injured since 1998.

To arrange a free case review with a knowledgeable Indiana tailgating accident lawyer, call our office at (317) 472-3333, chat with us online, or fill out our contact form now.

What Is Tailgating?

A rear-end car accident could occur for a variety of reasons. Sometimes external factors that hinder traction or otherwise impede a vehicle’s deceleration could play a role, such as:

• Inclement weather
• Hazardous surface conditions
• Mechanical problems like failing brakes or worn tires

Yet like approximately 94 percent of auto accidents in the United States, a collision from the rear is most often the result of driver error. Many kinds of errors could make a driver hit the vehicle to his or her front, like speeding, distraction, drowsiness, or intoxication, but tailgating is by far the biggest driver-related contributor to rear-end crashes.

Though sensible drivers always maintain an adequate cushion of space between themselves and other vehicles so that they can react appropriately to unanticipated developments, tailgaters ride in close proximity to the bumpers of the cars, trucks, or motorcycles in front of them. Consequently, they may be unable to reduce their speed quickly enough when the vehicles they are following do, thereby increasing the chances of a violent rear-end collision for which the assistance of an Indiana tailgating accident attorney might be beneficial.

How to Avoid Tailgating

Given how dangerous tailgating can be, it is critical to avoid this sort of misconduct if you can, a goal you might achieve by observing a “three-second rule.” Basically, you should allow at least three seconds to elapse between the time the vehicle ahead of you passes a fixed point in the road and the time you arrive at that point. If you arrive at that point sooner, you should slow down accordingly. (Please note that you may have to observe a “four-second rule” if you are driving a large truck or semi-trailer.)

But even if this simple practice could keep you from causing a tailgating accident, you unfortunately have very little control over what the driver behind you does, so you could still be subject to tailgating injuries despite your precautions. Nevertheless, you can rely on the accomplished Indiana tailgating accident lawyers at Hensley Legal Group to put together a rock-solid personal injury case against everyone who may be at fault.

Steps to Complete After an Indiana Tailgating Accident

To better protect that case, there are important steps that you should complete after an Indiana tailgating accident. Specifically, you should:

• Move to a safe location – Because you could be at risk of getting rear-ended by another vehicle if you linger in the street for too long, move to a safe location before you attempt to do anything else.
• Alert the authorities – Take out your phone to alert the authorities if police and emergency personnel don’t show up on their own, and be sure to give a comprehensive account of the tailgating accident so that an accurate report can be produced.
• Snap photos and shoot video footage – Use your phone to snap photos and shoot video footage of your surroundings as well, as visual documentation of the crash site could be invaluable when it comes to cataloging your losses and determining liability.
• Seek treatment immediately – Since delays in medical care could be detrimental to the healing process and permit doubt to be cast on the extent and relevance of your injuries, try to seek treatment immediately, whether from paramedics or at the nearest hospital.
• Ask for driver and witness information – Before you depart from the scene of the tailgating accident, remember to ask for pertinent information from the driver who rear-ended you and anyone who witnessed it, including the:
  • Name
  • Address
  • Phone number
  • Email
  • License plate
  • Insurance company and policy number
  • Vehicle year, make, and model
• Notify your insurance carrier – Promptly notifying your insurance carrier can guarantee that you remain in compliance with the terms of your policy and access any of the benefits that may be available, like reimbursement for physician visits, towing, repairs, and vehicle rentals.
• Stay away from other insurance carriers – On the other hand, it is probably smart to stay away from the insurance carriers for the other parties, no matter how insistent they are about speaking with you, because anything you say to an insurance adjuster could be used to undermine your claim. Instead, you may want to…
• Talk to an attorney – A seasoned Indiana tailgating accident lawyer can go over the facts leading up to your injury, answer the questions you might have, and educate you about what to expect if you are contemplating a case.

What Our Indiana Tailgating Accident Attorneys Can Do for You

Tailgating accidents might be “common” in Indiana, but nothing about your own Indiana tailgating accident may feel common to you when you are buried beneath a mountain of escalating expenses while simultaneously robbed of the ability to earn the funds necessary to dig your way out. In an instant, you could have trouble merely making ends meet, much less meeting the new demands on your finances, and a single misstep could be all it takes to push you over the edge of the fiscal cliff.

This is where the Indiana tailgating accident attorneys at Hensley Legal Group can make a difference for you and the ones you love. No challenge is too daunting or adversary too intimidating to prevent us from getting justice for our injured clients.

If you hire Hensley, we will launch a thorough investigation to identify the defendants who may be responsible for your tailgating accident.  Generally, this would include the tailgating driver and the owner of his or her vehicle, though other individuals and entities could share blame too, and we will establish valid claims and potentially file suit against each of them within the time allotted by law.

Your Indiana tailgating accident lawyer will also amass the evidentiary materials needed to back up any allegations you make, such as:

• Police reports
• Citation and dispositions
• Eyewitness statements
• Black box data
• Phone records
• Driving histories
• Maintenance logs
• Forensic analysis and accident reconstruction

Once we have assembled the strongest case possible against the defendants, we will enter into exhaustive negotiations with their insurers for a settlement that reflects the totality of your damages, including your:

• Medical bills
• Lost wages
• Pain and suffering
• Mental and emotional trauma
• Mobility restrictions
• Scarring and disfigurement
• Diminished quality of living
• Loss of consortium

And if we do not receive an offer that is worthy of your claim, we are not afraid to go to trial for a verdict to secure a verdict is, unlike some of our competitors, who rarely, if ever, venture into a courtroom – and end up leaving money on the table that belongs in their clients’ pockets.

If you are reluctant to agree to more expenditures when you may have spent so much already, you should be aware that our firm operates on a contingency basis. This means that you won’t owe us anything unless our Indiana tailgating accident attorneys win your case.

At Hensley, we take on clients because we believe in them, and we are willing to take on every burden involved in making them whole again.

Our Indiana Tailgating Accident Lawyers Will Be Ready to Help

Hensley Legal Group has been standing up for hardworking Hoosiers just like you for more than a quarter century. If you find yourself struggling to return to normal after being rear-ended by a reckless driver in the Hoosier State, know that our Indiana tailgating accident lawyers will be ready to help.

You can schedule a complimentary consultation with one of our highly skilled Indiana tailgating accident attorneys by calling our office at (317) 472-3333, chatting with us online, or filling out our contact form today.