As road safety evolves with technology, we also see emerging risks and challenges that drivers, pedestrians, and personal injury attorneys need to be aware of. One such concern is rear-end collisions involving electric vehicles (EVs). While EVs are celebrated for their efficiency and environmental benefits, there’s a significant aspect often overlooked: their weight, and how it could exacerbate the consequences of a rear-end accident. In this article, we will explore the risks associated with rear-end collisions and discuss why electric vehicles could potentially make these accidents more dangerous.

Understanding Rear-End Collisions

A rear-end collision occurs when a vehicle crashes into the back of the vehicle in front of it. These are among the most common types of accidents on our roads and can result from various factors such as distracted driving, speeding, and sudden stops. Rear-end collisions can lead to severe injuries including whiplash, spinal cord injuries, and even fatalities.

The Weight of Electric Vehicles

Electric vehicles are inherently heavier than their internal combustion engine (ICE) counterparts, primarily due to the weight of the batteries. For example, a Tesla Model S can weigh around 4,800 pounds, significantly heavier than a typical sedan. This additional weight not only affects the vehicle’s stopping distance but can also result in more significant force upon impact.

The Consequences of Weight in Rear-End Collisions

When an electric vehicle rear-ends another car, the additional weight can increase the risk of severe damage and injury for several reasons:

• Increased Stopping Distance: The heavier the vehicle, the longer it takes to come to a complete stop. This increases the likelihood of not stopping in time to avoid a collision.
• Greater Force Upon Impact: Newton’s second law of motion tells us that the force exerted upon impact is directly proportional to the mass and acceleration of the moving object. A heavier vehicle like an electric car will, therefore, exert a greater force in a collision, increasing the potential for damage and injury.
• Elevated Risk of Under-ride: Electric vehicles have a lower center of gravity due to the battery placement, which could lead to an increased risk of an under-ride situation where the EV goes under the vehicle in front, leading to catastrophic results.

Legal Implications

If you are involved in a rear-end collision with an electric vehicle, the complexities surrounding the accident can make the legal process more challenging. Given the increased risks associated with the weight and mechanics of electric vehicles, an experienced personal injury attorney can help dissect the nuances and work towards ensuring fair compensation for injuries and damages sustained.

How we can help

Electric vehicles offer numerous benefits, but it’s essential to be aware of the additional risks they pose in specific types of accidents like rear-end collisions. Understanding these risks can help drivers be more cautious and prepared, and can also assist personal injury attorneys in building stronger cases for their clients. If you or a loved one has been involved in a rear-end collision involving an electric vehicle, consult us and one of our skilled personal injury attorneys will navigate the complex legal landscape with you.

See your doctor immediately if you notice lacerations after a collision. Proper care will maximize the chances of full, rapid healing.

Formal medical diagnosis is also critical for legal reasons. Otherwise, it may be unnecessarily hard to get maximum compensation from your insurance, other drivers’ insurance, and even other drivers personally.

How do car crashes cause lacerations?

The cause is virtually always contact with a sharp object. You may not keep sharp objects in your car, but remember things like window glass and dashboard plastic break under impact.

Severity ranges from trivial to life-threatening. Deep lacerations, especially near major blood vessels, are a major emergency due to bleeding risk.

It usually takes a lot of force for auto glass/plastic to break and subsequently cut the vehicle’s occupants. That force typically causes other injuries, often more serious than the lacerations themselves.

Is it possible not to notice lacerations right away?

Usually not. Cutting the skin results in at least some immediate bleeding.

It’s possible (but not likely) to suffer hard-to-see lacerations on the back of your body. On the one hand, those may be easier to overlook. On the other hand, the circumstances that would cause them would likely cause other injuries, as well. Diagnosing the latter would generally reveal the former.

Is it worth seeing a doctor about small lacerations?

Yes. Any and all cuts from a car accident need medical attention, even if it seems manageable at home.

Firstly, anything that opens the skin creates some infection risk. That’s true regardless of how much or how little it hurts or bleeds.

Secondly, it’s in your best interest to document your injuries completely. If only for legal and insurance purposes, a comprehensive medical exam will ensure any harm is accounted for—and, ideally, compensated.

What’s more, we’d all rather minimize the appearance of scars. Even a relatively small cut, without other injuries, may heal poorly and leave unsightly scar tissue. Your doctor can’t totally prevent this, but can help reduce the chances of disfigurement.

Should I tell a lawyer about my lacerations from the accident?

Collisions bring overwhelming aftermath. The endless documentation and insurance disputes can be too much on their own, let alone when you’re also dealing with deep cuts and accompanying injuries.

At Bridge Law, our team of auto accident specialists is here to fight for you and for every penny you deserve. If you’ve suffered lacerations in a car accident, then contact us to discuss your case and options.

If you notice signs of even minor fractures after a collision, see your doctor immediately. Proper care will maximize the chances of full, rapid healing.

Formal medical diagnosis is also critical for legal reasons. Otherwise, it may be unnecessarily hard to get maximum compensation from your insurance, other drivers’ insurance, and even other drivers personally.

Is it possible not to notice a broken bone?

Many fractures are subtler than you’d think. Generally, the smaller the bone, the less obvious a fracture might be.

There’s no mistaking a full break of a large bone. In addition to severe pain, the body part may be visibly deformed. But mild fractures, especially of smaller bones, aren’t always so clear.

Are there non-obvious symptoms of broken bones?

Yes. Minor fractures can cause discomfort and swelling, but no deformity and no severe pain.

This is often the case with fingers and toes, or even ribs, depending on the nature of the impact. For example, minor fractures around joints sometimes seem like a sprain.

Do I always need treatment for a fracture?

Not all fractures need intervention, but it’s critical to let a doctor decide—no matter how minor yours may seem.

Even if the pain is manageable, lack of treatment can prevent proper healing, which raises the likelihood of poor joint mobility, asymmetrical posture, and even arthritis later in life.

Nothing jammed against me, so how could I have broken a bone?

It’s true that the most severe breaks are usually due to door or dashboard parts jamming against your body.

But even if that didn’t happen, a collision could still have caused a fracture in several other ways.

• Extreme pressure against the seatbelt or airbag can crack ribs. (To be clear, they’re still worth using. If impact was hard to to fracture ribs against an airbag, then imagine if you’d hit a hard surface instead!)
• Random objects in the car may turn into projectiles at the moment of impact.
• Instinctively bracing yourself (e.g., to protect your face) against the dashboard or steering wheel.

If I broke a bone in a car crash, should I talk to an attorney?

Collisions bring overwhelming aftermath. It’s more than enough to deal with medical care and a potentially long healing process for fractures.

But then there’s the endless documentation, insurance disputes, and sometimes more complicated legal matters.

At Bridge Law, our team of auto accident specialists is here to fight for you and for every penny you deserve. If you’ve suffered a broken bone in a car accident, then contact us to discuss your case and options.

For any arm or leg complications after a car collision, see your doctor immediately. Proper care will maximize the chances of full, rapid healing.

Formal medical diagnosis may also be necessary for full compensation from your insurance, other drivers’ insurance, and even other drivers personally.

What serious limb injuries happen in car crashes?

Serious collisions are prone to crushing limbs. Even small vehicles possess enormous momentum, capable of damaging bones and connective tissues beyond any hope of repair or recovery.

In such cases, amputation may be the only option. This decision is often made by an emergency surgeon shortly after the collision.

Could you possibly need an amputation later on?

Only a physician can determine this—and even then, it may depend on daily or weekly progress in healing.

If damage is extensive but amputation wasn’t immediately necessary, factors like infection or necrosis may still play a role. Unfortunately, these are agonizingly difficult to predict.

How common is car accident limb loss?

Car accidents are the second-most common cause of amputation, and by far the most common cause of traumatic amputation.

Current data are elusive, but an American study from 1996 estimated that 185,000 amputations are performed every year. Of these, 45% (83,250) are due to trauma, the vast majority of which relate to car accidents.

So, as a back-of-the-envelope estimate, collisions may lead to 50,000–75,000 amputations annually in the US.

What can they do about limb loss?

Surgical reattachment of a severed limb is exceedingly difficult, but possible.

Collisions are a particular challenge. They often result in severe mangling, if the amputated portion can be salvaged at all.

In most cases, the victim will eventually be fitted with a prosthesis.

The physical and mental burden can be immense, so physical therapy, occupational therapy, and counseling are equally important for function and well-being.

Should I talk to a lawyer about my limb injuries?

Collisions bring overwhelming aftermath. The endless documentation and insurance disputes can be too much on their own, let alone when you’re also dealing with severe limb injuries.

At Bridge Law, our team of auto accident specialists is here to fight for you and for every penny you deserve. If you’ve suffered serious limb damage or amputation in a car accident, then contact us to discuss your case and options.

See your doctor immediately if you notice bruising, lightheadedness, nausea or other ambiguous symptoms after a collision. These may be signs of gradual but dangerous internal bleeding.

Formal medical diagnosis is also critical for legal reasons. Otherwise, it may be unnecessarily hard to get maximum compensation from your insurance, other drivers’ insurance, and even other drivers personally.

What exactly is internal bleeding?

Our bodies are replete with blood vessels, from our skin to our deepest organs. Internal bleeding (often called hemorrhaging) occurs when deeper vessels rupture, but there’s no open wound for the blood to exit.

It can develop for all sorts of reasons, but trauma may be the most prevalent. Car accidents often involve blunt-force impact and rapid deceleration, both of which are common causes of hemorrhaging.

Severe blood loss can, of course, prove fatal. Depending on the location of the hemorrhage, it may also result in organ damage and necrosis (the death of tissue) due to lack of oxygen and nutrients.

How could I not notice internal bleeding?

One of the greatest dangers of internal bleeding is that its symptoms and severity don’t always match.

Blunt-force impact may leave obvious signs, such as massive bruising, broken bones, or even crushing injuries.

But deceleration can tug and tear vessels—or even entire organs—without dramatic or immediate symptoms. In less severe cases, symptoms may manifest over the course of multiple days.

That’s one of the main reasons why you should never tell others you aren’t hurt in the aftermath of a collision. In many cases, it’s simply too soon to tell.

What internal bleeding symptoms should I watch for?

Non-obvious symptoms are the overarching concern. They may happen gradually and could indicate a wide range of injuries.

Typical signs include:

• Lightheadedness (especially upon standing up) and generalized weakness
• Trouble seeing, feeling, breathing, or moving as normal
• Pain around the upper-left chest, left shoulder, or upper left arm

Seek emergency care for any of the above.

It’s worth reiterating that these symptoms have many possible causes, ranging from trivial to life-threatening. A hemorrhage isn’t the only one, but it’s one of the more severe.

How do doctors treat internal bleeding?

Doctors may give IV fluids or even blood transfusions to stabilize blood volume. It can be difficult to locate a hemorrhage, so they’ll generally use scans to look for pooled blood inside your body.

At that point, treatment is typically surgical. The details of the procedure depend on the location and severity of blood loss.

Do I need to talk to an attorney about it?

Collisions bring overwhelming aftermath. It’s stressful enough to deal with the diagnosis and treatment of suspected internal bleeding and a potentially long healing process.

But then there’s the endless documentation, insurance disputes, and sometimes more complicated legal matters.

At Bridge Law, our team of auto accident specialists is here to fight for you and for every penny you deserve. If you’ve suffered a hemorrhage in a car accident, then contact us to discuss your case and options.