New Jersey side-impact car accident: T-bone and sideswipe claims

How often do T-bone and sideswipe crashes hurt someone in New Jersey?

Left-turn crashes hurt or kill someone most often, 38.6% of the time, ahead of right-angle T-bones at 33.7% and same-direction sideswipes at 10.4%. Local rates can run higher, as Plainfield's right-angle crash records show.

The 25,347 right-angle crashes that left someone killed or hurt were about 22% of all such crashes statewide, second only to rear-end. Sideswipes happen more often, 92,506 times, but injure far less often.

For crossings with the most injury crashes in each county, see our count of New Jersey's most dangerous intersections.

Who is at fault when a car turns left across you?

Fault turns on when the turn began, each car's direction of travel and how each driver reacted, in the crash type most likely to hurt someone.

Police code these crashes as Left Turn/U Turn or as Right Angle, so check which code your report carries. DOBI lists failing to observe and avoid the other car, and failing to brake, swerve or sound the horn, as fault factors.

Was it a T-bone or a sideswipe, and why does it matter?

A T-bone turns on right of way at a crossing; a sideswipe turns on where each car was in its lane before contact. A side-panel dent alone does not tell you which one happened. Route 4 sideswipes in Fair Lawn show how often both types share one corridor.

Which evidence each crash type needs, from camera footage to witness questions, is on our page on evidence that helps prove fault.

Who is at fault in a T-bone or sideswipe in NJ?

Usually the driver who lacked the right of way at the crossing, or the driver who left their lane; the insurer sets each driver's percentage from how both cars approached.

DOBI's own example of a "greater duty of care" is a driver pulling out from a stop sign. "Last clear chance" asks who could still have avoided the collision.

How a percentage cuts what you recover, and how to dispute it, is on our page on real fault splits in New Jersey cases.³

Does your PIP pay if the other driver ran the light?

Yes: your PIP pays eligible medical bills whoever ran the light. Your car is never a PIP claim; it goes to your collision coverage or the other driver's insurer.

The full split, from pain and suffering to uninsured drivers, is on our pages on whether NJ is a no-fault state and PIP limits for medical bills. Repairs follow our New Jersey property damage claim steps.⁴

What did New Jersey judges decide when a car was hit from the side?

Three of the five side-impact rulings in our New Jersey appeals file turned on proof of the injury, not on who had the right of way.

Each passenger proves their own injury, as our New Jersey passenger accident guide explains. In a no-contact sideswipe, you need evidence tying the injury to the other car's move.

What a verdict like Robinson's says about settlement value is on our page asking whether a $50k offer is a good NJ settlement. More rulings sit in our index of New Jersey car accident appeals.

What should you write down after a side impact?

Write down how both cars approached the point of contact, not just the damage.

1. Tell the clinician where you sat, which side was hit and any second impact. Keep the records listed in medical records for an injury claim.
2. Note your road, your direction and whether you or the other car was turning.
3. List each later contact in order, kept separate from the first hit.
4. Keep full-length videos, label photos taken after the cars moved, and do not ask witnesses to match accounts.

Reporting the crash and the first calls are in what to do right after a New Jersey crash. Getting the report is in the New Jersey crash report guide, and deadlines in how long you have to sue in NJ.