T-Bone Accident Lawyer: Side-Impact Intersection Crashes in Philadelphia and Delaware County

Who is at fault in a T-bone crash

The driver who entered the intersection without the right-of-way is usually at fault in a T-bone crash, whether that meant running a red light, going through a stop sign, or pulling out in front of cross traffic. Because the striking car's front end hits the other car's side, the physical damage shows who hit whom, but not who had the right to go.

That is why these claims turn on proof gathered early. Warren I. Siegel, a Pennsylvania attorney since 1992, starts by identifying every camera, witness and data source that can show the signal phase at the moment of impact.

The right-of-way rules Pennsylvania applies

• Red signals: a driver facing a steady red must stop and remain stopped until a signal to proceed is shown. A right turn on red is allowed only after a full stop and only while yielding to pedestrians and other traffic lawfully using the intersection (75 Pa.C.S. § 3112).
• Stop signs: a driver must stop, then yield to any vehicle in the intersection or approaching so closely as to be a hazard, and enter only when it is safe (75 Pa.C.S. § 3323(b)). Stopping first does not give that driver the right to go.
• Yield signs: a driver must slow to a reasonable speed, stop if safety requires, and yield to traffic already in or close to the intersection (§ 3323(c)).
• Uncontrolled intersections: when two vehicles arrive at about the same time, the driver on the left yields to the driver on the right, except where one road is a through highway (75 Pa.C.S. § 3321).

Why side impacts cause serious injuries

The front of a car has a hood, engine and crumple zone to absorb a crash. The side has a door and a window. When a car is struck broadside, the person seated on the impact side takes the force almost directly, and side airbag protection varies by vehicle and model year.

Common injuries include rib and pelvic fractures, collapsed lungs, spleen and liver injuries, shoulder and hip damage from the door pushing inward, and head injuries from striking the window or pillar. Occupants on the far side are not spared; they are thrown toward the impact and can strike another passenger or the center console.

Proving who had the green light

Signal disputes are rarely settled by the drivers' own accounts. The evidence that tends to decide them includes the timing plan for that signal from the municipality or PennDOT, video from corner stores, gas stations and homes near the intersection, and statements from drivers who were stopped at the cross street and saw their own light.

Vehicle data matters too. An airbag control module can show whether the striking driver braked or accelerated in the final seconds, which often reveals a driver trying to beat a yellow. Private video is the most perishable piece, so preservation requests should go out in the first days after the crash.

Intersections we see in these claims

In Delaware County, Township Line Road, Garrett Road and Lansdowne Avenue cross dozens of side streets where a driver pulling from a stop sign has limited sight lines past parked cars. West Chester Pike and Baltimore Pike carry fast through traffic past cross streets and plaza exits.

In Philadelphia, crossing Roosevelt Boulevard means clearing many lanes of the inner and outer roadways, and a driver who misjudges the signal cycle can end up in the path of traffic that has just gotten a green. Philadelphia Police handle city crashes, and suits there generally go to the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas.

Insurance after a side-impact crash

Your own auto policy's first-party medical benefits, at least $5,000 on every Pennsylvania policy under 75 Pa.C.S. § 1711, pay your early bills regardless of who ran the light. The at-fault driver's liability coverage pays the rest, subject to its limits.

Drivers who run red lights sometimes have no insurance or leave the scene. Uninsured motorist coverage under § 1731 is optional, but if you carry it, it can apply when the at-fault driver had no insurance, and Pennsylvania's definition of an uninsured vehicle includes an unidentified one, provided the crash is reported to police and your insurer is notified within 30 days or as soon as practicable. Our hit-and-run page covers that situation in more detail.

Deadline, fee and your next step

Pennsylvania generally allows two years from the crash to file an injury suit (42 Pa.C.S. § 5524), with some exceptions. Intersection video disappears long before that, so the practical deadline is much shorter.

Our fee is 100% contingent on a recovery, and the firm advances all case costs, which are repaid only from a recovery. If nothing is recovered, you owe nothing. Call (267) 412-4601 or send the free case review form.