Side-Impact Car Crash

You were crossing an intersection when another car slammed into your door, or you were turning and got hit broadside. Now you’re hurt, and an insurance adjuster wants to know whose fault it was. Here’s the plain answer: fault in a T-bone crash usually comes down to who had the right of way. A driver who ran a red light or a stop sign, or turned left in front of oncoming traffic, broke a traffic rule, and that is strong evidence of fault. But fault can be shared, and the proof can disappear within days. Right away, get checked by a doctor, save the evidence and be careful what you tell the other driver’s insurer.

Hurt and not sure where you stand? Get a free case review. Four quick questions, no cost, no obligation.

What is a T-bone crash, and why is it so dangerous?

A side-impact crash, also called a T-bone or broadside crash, happens when the front of one vehicle hits the side of another, forming a “T.” The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) counts these as angle crashes: collisions between two vehicles on the road that aren’t head-on, rear-end, rear-to-rear or sideswipe crashes. In 2023, angle crashes were the most common kind of injury crash, and there were more than twice as many fatal angle crashes as fatal rear-end crashes:

Source: NHTSA, Traffic Safety Facts 2023, Table 29. Angle crashes made up 18.7% of all fatal crashes and 29.4% of all injury crashes. Compare rear-end crashes, head-on collisions and other types of car accidents.

In NHTSA’s data, the vehicle that gets hit takes the worst of it. In fatal two-vehicle crashes in 2023 in which the front of a pickup, SUV or van hit the side of a car, people in the car were killed 14.4 times as often as people in the light truck. When a car hit the side of a light truck, people in the truck were killed 1.6 times as often. In the side crashes its 2007 safety upgrade targeted, NHTSA found that head and face injuries caused 41% of deaths among people seated on the struck side, and chest injuries 34% (2004 data).

Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard No. 214 requires cars and light trucks rated at 10,000 pounds or less to pass side-impact tests, which, depending on the vehicle, include a 33.5 mph barrier crash and a sideways crash into a pole at up to 20 mph (49 CFR 571.214). NHTSA added the pole test in 2007, expecting it to lead to side curtain and torso air bags (72 FR 51908).

Who is at fault in a T-bone crash?

T-bone crashes happen where paths cross. In a NHTSA study of crashes investigated at the scene from 2005 to 2007, the move that made 36% of the crashes unavoidable was a driver turning or crossing at an intersection, and in 22.2% it was a left turn. The driver error recorded most often in those intersection crashes was “inadequate surveillance,” meaning the driver failed to look, or looked but did not see (44.1%), though NHTSA cautions that this doesn’t assign fault. Side impacts in parking lots raise their own questions; see who is at fault in a parking lot crash.

Who had the right of way?

State traffic laws say when a driver must yield the right of way, which means letting the other driver go first (Cornell LII), and a T-bone case usually turns on which driver broke one of those rules. A driver who breaks a safety law without an excuse can be treated as negligent as a matter of law, a doctrine called negligence per se (Cornell LII). Here is how Michigan’s Vehicle Code handles common T-bone situations; other states’ details can differ.

Can both drivers share the blame?

Yes. In Michigan, a driver going at an unlawful speed forfeits any right of way the rules for stop signs, yield signs and intersections without working signals would otherwise give (MCL 257.649(7)), and a driver with a green light must still yield to vehicles lawfully in the intersection. Most states split the loss by percentage, a rule called comparative negligence: if you’re 20% at fault, you receive 80% of your damages. Many bar recovery once your share reaches 50% or 51%, and Alabama, Maryland, North Carolina, Virginia and Washington, D.C., still follow contributory negligence, which can bar recovery for any fault at all (Cornell LII). See each state’s shared-fault rule.

What evidence shows who had the right of way?

When both drivers claim the green light, the evidence decides, and much of it fades fast:

• The scene: photos of the signals and signs, anything that blocked the view, skid marks, debris and where each car stopped.
• Witnesses: names and phone numbers, before people leave.
• Video and signal records: footage from businesses, homes, buses, dashcams and traffic cameras, and the signal’s timing and repair records. Footage may be recorded over, so ask in writing right away.
• The police report: the officer’s view of fault is an opinion, not a final ruling.

What does the car’s event data recorder show?

Federal rules don’t require an event data recorder (EDR), but NHTSA estimates that 99.5% of model year 2021 cars and other vehicles up to 8,500 pounds had one. If a car or other vehicle up to 8,500 pounds built since September 2012 has an EDR, it must record speed, accelerator and brake use in the 5 seconds before a crash (49 CFR 563.3, 563.7). NHTSA has found that 5 seconds captures only a small part of the time a vehicle spends approaching and crossing an intersection, and it is phasing in 20 seconds for vehicles built from September 1, 2028.

The data belongs to the vehicle’s owner or lessee, and anyone else generally needs the owner’s or lessee’s consent or a court’s authorization (Driver Privacy Act of 2015). Reading it takes special equipment and access to the vehicle or the recorder (49 CFR 563.11), so don’t let your car be repaired or scrapped until you’ve asked a lawyer about saving its data, and about asking the other driver’s insurer to preserve the other car. See how to preserve evidence after an accident.

Can a road agency or a carmaker share the blame?

The road agency. A missing stop sign, a broken signal or bushes that hid cross traffic can point to the agency that runs the road. Claims against government agencies follow their own rules, and some have short notice deadlines.

The carmaker. If a side air bag didn’t deploy or a door gave way, the maker may share responsibility even though it didn’t cause the crash. In 1968, a federal appeals court applying Michigan law held that carmakers must use reasonable care in design to avoid “an unreasonable risk of injury in the event of a collision,” and can be liable for injuries a defect caused or made worse (Larsen v. General Motors Corp.). These crashworthiness claims depend on examining the car.

Not sure who had the right of way, or which insurer pays first? Get a free case review. Four quick questions, no cost, no obligation.

Who pays, and what can a T-bone claim cover?

Twelve states and Puerto Rico, including Michigan, have no-fault laws. There, your own personal injury protection (PIP) pays your basic losses first, whoever caused the crash, and you can usually sue for pain and suffering only if your injury passes a threshold. In at-fault (tort) states, lawsuits aren’t restricted: the driver who caused the crash can be sued for pain and suffering and for costs such as medical bills (Triple-I). Our car accident lawsuit guide explains both systems.

A claim can cover economic losses, such as medical bills, lost wages and car damage, and noneconomic losses, such as pain and emotional distress (Cornell LII). If the at-fault driver had no insurance or too little, your own uninsured or underinsured motorist coverage can pay (National Association of Insurance Commissioners). If the driver fled, see what to do after a hit-and-run.

What is a T-bone claim worth?

No one can honestly price your claim without the facts, and an “average” mixes minor crashes with life-changing ones; see what car accident settlement figures really mean. Value moves with your injury, the strength of the right-of-way evidence, your share of fault, the insurance available and, in a no-fault state, the threshold. Before you accept an offer, ask for a written estimate of what you’d take home after fees, costs and any health plan repayment.

What to do next

1. Get medical care, even if you feel all right. Some concussion symptoms may not appear for hours or days (CDC). Keep every bill and record.
2. Save the evidence this week: photos, witness contacts, written requests for video, and your car, untouched until you’ve asked about its data. Our checklist of 10 things to do after a car accident covers the rest.
3. Send your notices. Tell your own insurer promptly. In Michigan, give written PIP notice within one year, and road-agency notice within 120 days if the road played a part.
4. Say less to the other side’s insurer. You don’t have to give it a recorded statement, and it’s safer not to before you’ve had advice. A release gives up the claim (Cornell LII), so don’t sign one until you know how badly you’re hurt.
5. Get a free case review. Tell us what happened in four quick questions, at no cost. In Michigan, you can also compare injury lawyers near you.

What waiting can cost

• The video. Footage gets recorded over, and with it the proof of who had the green light.
• The cars. A repaired or scrapped car can’t be inspected, and its event data can go with it.
• Your right to sue. Every state sets a deadline to sue, called a statute of limitations, and notice deadlines can be shorter.
• Your story. An early recorded statement, such as “I never saw him,” can be used to shift fault onto you.

What a good outcome looks like

The evidence shows who had the right of way, and any split of fault matches what happened, not an adjuster’s first guess. Your bills and lost income are paid on time while you heal, every notice goes out on time, and whoever caused the crash pays fair compensation through their insurance. From wondering whose fault the crash was to knowing why right of way matters, what evidence to save and who else may share the blame.

For more, browse our car, truck and motorcycle accident guides. In Michigan, start with the plain-English guide to Michigan injury law.

Updated September 25, 2026

This guide is general information, not legal advice, and laws change. For advice about your situation, talk to a lawyer licensed in your state. Reading this page or contacting us does not create an attorney-client relationship.