Intersections are busy areas where the high number of vehicles increases the chance of a collision. It’s no surprise that many car accidents occur at intersections, and these crashes often lead to serious injuries and property damage.
If you or a loved one have been hurt at an intersection, you may struggle with excessive medical bills, lost income from time missed at work, chronic pain, disability, property damage, and many other challenges.
Unfortunately, the path to recovery isn’t always an easy one. If the other driver and/or their insurance company decide you were at fault, they could refuse to pay your damages or offer you far less than your claim is worth.
Taking on the insurance company by yourself is an overwhelming proposition, but with the right help, you may be able to recover your damages successfully.
How Can a Denver Intersection Accidents Attorney Help?
An experienced intersection accident attorney will evaluate your claim, collect evidence to show the other driver was at fault, and fight to get you the settlement you need to put your life back together.
If you’ve suffered a serious car accident at an intersection, please contact Olson Personal Injury Lawyers™ for a free consultation. We will find every avenue you can take to cover your damages, and you don’t have to worry about any upfront fees—you won’t pay us anything until we win or settle your claim.
What Are the Most Dangerous Intersections in Denver?
You should consider any intersection potentially dangerous and proceed carefully, but here are the Denver intersections that saw the most accidents in 2021:
- The Colorado Boulevard and East Colfax Avenue intersection had 44 accidents in 2021—about three per month.
- West Mississippi Avenue and South Santa Fe Drive experienced 33 crashes, while West Mississippi Avenue and South Platte River Drive had 32 accidents.
- The intersection at North Tower Road and East 56th Avenue saw 31 collisions.
- There were 30 accidents at Colorado Boulevard and East 40th Avenue.
- West Alameda Avenue and South Santa Fe Drive experienced 27 accidents.
How Can You Reduce the Risk of Accidents at Intersections?
While you can’t control what others do on the road, you can take steps to reduce your own risk of an accident. Here are some ways to lower your chances of a collision when moving through an intersection:
- Pay attention and avoid distractions. Of course, you should always avoid distracted driving and pay attention to your surroundings, but this is especially crucial at intersections. Even if you have the green light or the right of way, be on the lookout for other drivers who don’t appear to be paying as much attention as you are. If you see someone ignoring the light and plowing into the intersection, be prepared to stop and let them through to avoid a collision.
- Obey the speed limit and slow down if necessary. The faster you go through an intersection, the harder it is to stop if someone else runs a light. Also, don’t “step on it” to get through a slow yellow before the light turns red. Stop and wait for the green light.
- Avoid following too closely—again, this is good advice in any situation. But if someone T-bones the car in front of you, it’s important that you have time to stop so you don’t cause a three-car pileup.
- Remember to use your turn signal. This helps other drivers avoid confusion about how you plan to go through the intersection.
- Be careful at four-way stops. You may understand the rules of who goes first, but many drivers do not. Sometimes, it’s better to yield to another driver who doesn’t have the right of way so you can avoid an accident.
How Can You Prove Fault in an Intersection Accident?
These accidents often lead to conflicts about who was at fault. In a fast-moving intersection, witnesses may be long gone by the time the police arrive.
The responding officer will take statements from both drivers, passengers, and any witnesses who are present, then examine evidence at the scene—vehicle damage, tire marks, etc. Sometimes, the two drivers’ accounts are very different, and there are no witnesses, and other evidence is limited.
When this happens, the officer’s report may be inconclusive, or they might make the best guess possible with the available information. We always go over the police report carefully with the client in an attempt to learn if anything is incorrect.
While the report is considered a vital piece of evidence, we can challenge it if we find additional evidence to support your version of events.
What Evidence Do You Need in an Intersection Accident Case?
If we need additional information, we may assign an investigative team to look into your intersection accident. We’ll canvas the area near the intersection, talking with residents or people who work nearby—we may even locate witnesses who weren’t interviewed at the scene.
Additionally, we’ll look for any nearby security, doorbell, or traffic cameras. These can be an excellent source of information, and in some cases, we even recover video of the accident.
However, the window to collect video is usually narrow because these files are often deleted on a regular basis. The sooner you contact us, the sooner we can start looking for a video.
Other electronic evidence can also be helpful. Most modern vehicles come equipped with an event data recorder or EDR, which records a number of data points for any significant event. Examining the EDR data from both vehicles can give us essential information, like how fast the vehicles were going, the directions they were moving, and the drivers’ actions.
What if the Other Driver Admits Fault, but the Insurance Company Says You’re at Fault Too?
Colorado uses a system of modified comparative negligence for personal injury claims like car accident cases. It’s not unusual for two people to share fault in a car accident, and under modified comparative negligence rules, an injured person is not barred from recovery simply because they contributed to the crash.
If the injured party is less than 50 percent at fault, they can still obtain compensation from the more responsible driver (or their insurance policy). Their percentage of fault will be deducted from the final award, reducing their settlement.
For instance, if the injured person is 20 percent at fault, they could recover only 80 percent of their damages.
The problem is that, in most cases, the allocation of fault is left up to an insurance adjuster for the primarily responsible driver. Or, if you both file claims on each other’s insurance, adjusters for both companies will negotiate with each other.
If both drivers have the same insurance company, they will each be assigned a separate adjuster.
Each insurance adjuster has one job: To save money for the company. The other driver’s adjuster will search for reasons to claim you had at least some fault so that they can reduce your payout—sometimes by a considerable amount.
Your adjuster might agree you had a small amount of fault when you didn’t because it won’t cost them anything—but you could lose some of your settlement. In short, allowing insurance adjusters to decide how much money you deserve is not in your best interest.
But when you have the assistance of a seasoned car accident lawyer, you’re more likely to receive a fair deal.
We’ll create a strategy to show the other driver was entirely at fault, or if you did contribute to the crash, we’ll work to ensure the adjusters accurately allocate fault. Additionally, we’ll calculate the value of your damages so we know what the starting point should be before any amount is deducted for comparative negligence.
There is no reason you should take on more responsibility than you actually have.
Another trick of the insurance companies is to undervalue your claim, ignoring some damages or offering too little for others. Our goal is always to get you the largest possible settlement to help you put your life back together after a serious accident.
Contact a Denver Intersection Accidents Law Firm Today
After an intersection accident, you might be in the hospital recovering while the other driver is telling their car insurance company the accident was your fault. But don’t rush to call the insurance company—instead, contact Olson Personal Injury Lawyers™ for a free consultation.
There is no obligation, but if we do take your case, we can communicate with the insurance company on your behalf while you focus on your recovery.
In 2012, attorney Sean Olson founded Olson Personal Injury Lawyers™ out of a desire to help injured people and their families get the help they need after a devastating accident or injury. He’s always available to talk with clients and keep them updated.
An active member of the Colorado and Wyoming legal communities, he has been a Super Lawyers Rising Star five years in a row and was featured on Expertise.com’s list of Best Car Accident Lawyers. In his spare time, he enjoys mountain biking, fly fishing, and spending time with his family.
Work with Attorney Olson when you call (720) 730-4325 today.