Billings Personal Injury Law Blog

A motor vehicle accident can change a person's life in an instant. One second a Montana driver may be heading to the store or going to work, and the next moment that person may be left with pain and debilitating injuries. While anyone is susceptible to injuries in a crash, there is some reason to believe that certain people are more likely to experience injuries than others in car accidents.

According to the findings of a recent study, women are more likely to experience injuries in a crash than men. In fact, they have a 73% greater chance of injury in a collision. This study focused on forward collisions in which occupants were wearing seat belts. Vehicles are safer than ever before, but evidence suggests that the reason women are more likely to be injured is because of the difference in body types between males and females.

If you're traveling on a Montana highway, it pays to be as cautious and alert as possible, especially when you're sharing the road with a lot of other vehicles. All drivers are legally obligated to adhere to all traffic laws and safety regulations. The problem is that you have no guarantee that every other nearby motorist is going to comply. Car or truck accidents often occur suddenly, leaving little to no time to safely react to avoid collision. 

Some drivers are reckless. Others get distracted at the wheel, perhaps while adjusting radio knobs or using cellphones which take their focus off the task at hand. Truck drivers, in particular, are often fatigued after spending many consecutive hours on the road without rest. News headlines often include mention of 18-wheeler accidents, many of which result in fatalities.

As in other states across the country that typically experience wintry road conditions this time of year, Montana motorists and travelers must be especially cautious when they head out on the highways. It is no secret that there are usually more car accidents in inclement weather than there are when the sun is brightly shining and roadways are dry. Driver negligence is often listed as a causal factor when motorists fail to reach their travel destinations because of collisions.

There was an incident on I-90 on a recent Tuesday morning. Montana Highway Patrol officers were among the first responders to the scene. As often occurs in the aftermath of a motor vehicle collision, traffic flow was expected to slow to a single lane until such time that workers would be able to clear all the debris from the crash that was blocking the road.

A Montana college student was walking along a roadway in the wee hours of a Sunday morning. The events that unfolded resulted in tragedy. The driver of a pickup truck struck the pedestrian. Car accidents involving pedestrians often end in fatality, as this incident did.

The driver of the pickup truck reportedly admitted that he had seen the pedestrian walking along the side of the road. He also stated that, at one point, he noticed the young man's gait appeared unstable. The rear end of the vehicle struck the pedestrian. An off-duty police officer stopped at the scene shortly after the accident and attempted CPR on the victim.