Hollywood, Florida, Side-Impact (T-Bone) Crash Lawyers

When life hurts, we make it personal.

A side-impact collision, often called a T-bone because of the angle of the crash, happens in a blink, usually at or near an intersection where one driver fails to yield the right of way. The blow comes on the side of the car, where vehicles have the least protection, and the force travels directly into the occupant space. These cases routinely involve catastrophic injuries and, too often, fatality. At Ansel & Miller, we devote the time, resources, and close attorney-client attention these cases demand. We are not a mill; we are a focused trial firm that takes select, serious cases and pursues results that truly support our clients’ lives.

In South Florida and beyond, our Hollywood side-impact crash lawyers and long-tenured staff work like a family—for your family. You will meet with and speak to your lawyer. You will know the strategy, the timeline, and the next step. And you will feel the difference of a team that does this work because it matters.

How Side-Impact Crashes Happen

T-bone collisions are rarely “accidents” in the sense of some unavoidable event that was nobody’s fault. They are the predictable outcome of rule-breaking, inattention, and poor judgment, especially in South Florida’s dense traffic corridors and busy urban grids. The patterns are familiar, and we take the time to prove them.

• Speeding through intersections. A driver who charges a stale yellow or red light robs everyone else of the chance to react. High approach speed shortens stopping distance and multiplies crash energy, turning a close call into a devastating side intrusion.

• Running stop signs or red lights. Rolling stops and outright violations are a leading cause of broadside impacts. Failing to stop at any speed can carry enough momentum to shear door structures and throw occupants sideways into hard interior surfaces, depending on the weight differential between the vehicles.

• Left turns across traffic mid-block. Drivers darting across multiple lanes to access plazas, gas stations, or residential driveways often misjudge oncoming speed or fail to see a vehicle hidden by a larger SUV or box truck. A mistimed gap choice produces classic near-side T-bones at unforgiving closing speeds.

• Distracted driving. A glance at a phone, a navigation prompt, a spilled drink—seconds of diverted attention at an intersection mean missed signal phases, delayed launches, and lane departures. A speeding or distracted driver can also be the guilty party in a mid-block left turn described above. Either way, the result is lateral impact in the most vulnerable place on the car.

• Failure to yield to pedestrians and cyclists. Vehicles that initiate turns without scanning crosswalks or bike lanes can be struck broadside themselves or, worse, inflict the side-impact on a person with no steel cage around them.

• Improper lane changes and corridor merges. In multi-lane arterials, an aggressive lane change into a vehicle’s path forces abrupt evasive maneuvers and spin-outs that end in secondary T-bones in adjacent lanes.

• Impairment and fatigue. Alcohol, drugs, and drowsiness slow decision-making and lengthen reaction times. At an intersection, that extra half-second is everything.

• Obstructed sightlines and poor timing. Parked vehicles near corners, overgrown hedges, or a high-sitting SUV can eclipse a smaller sedan. When drivers “nose out” to see, the protruding front end is a sitting duck for a perpendicular strike.

These scenarios are preventable. Our job is to move them from “possible” to proven with evidence.

Why Side-Impact Crashes Are So Severe

The physics and biomechanics of a T-bone accident stack the deck against occupants, especially the person seated on the struck side.

• Less structural protection at the flanks. Unlike the front and rear ends, the side of a car has a limited crumple zone. Beyond the door skin and window, there are only slender pillars and a short distance before the occupant. Even with modern reinforcements, intrusion into the cabin is common.

• Vehicle mismatch: height and mass. When a taller SUV or pickup hits a lower-sitting sedan, the striking vehicle’s bumper rides up over door beams, delivering force directly to the window line and head/torso area. Heavier vehicles carry more momentum; the lighter car absorbs the punishment.

• Crush and secondary impacts. The first hit drives the door inward; the second throws the occupant sideways into the interior (door, B-pillar, window), then often back toward the center. Loose objects become projectiles. If the car is spun, additional strikes from other vehicles or fixed objects compound trauma.

• Complex occupant kinematics. Near-side occupants endure abrupt lateral acceleration that the human body is poorly designed to handle. Injuries include thoracic and pelvic fractures, lung contusions, splenic and hepatic lacerations, traumatic brain injury from side blows, and spinal column injuries from lateral bending.

• Airbag limitations. Side curtain and torso airbags help, but they deploy within milliseconds and can be overwhelmed by deep intrusion. Older vehicles lacking side airbags or those with malfunctioning sensors may not protect at all.

This combination of dangers explains why side-impact crashes produce a disproportionate share of catastrophic injuries and wrongful death claims.

The Injuries We See—and Prove

Our clients in T-bone cases often face a long, uncertain recovery. We commonly litigate claims involving traumatic brain injury (including diffuse axonal injury from lateral shearing), spinal cord damage and paralysis, complex pelvic and acetabular fractures, rib and sternal fractures with lung compromise, internal organ injuries requiring surgery, and severe orthopedic damage to shoulders and hips. For families who lost a loved one in a fatal crash, we bring wrongful death claims that account for the profound loss of support, companionship, and guidance.

Documenting these injuries is not about lists of diagnoses; it’s about telling the medical story. We work with treating physicians, trauma surgeons, neuroradiologists, life-care planners, and vocational experts to connect mechanism to injury and injury to lifetime needs.

Florida Insurance Considerations: When “No-Fault” Isn’t Enough

Florida’s no-fault system means your PIP benefits pay some medical bills and lost wages after a crash, regardless of fault. But in serious side-impact collisions, injuries almost always exceed those limited benefits. When your injuries meet the state’s serious-injury threshold, you can pursue a liability claim against the at-fault driver (and, where applicable, against additional defendants such as employers, vehicle owners, or establishments that overserved an impaired driver). That is where experienced trial counsel makes the difference by expanding the recovery beyond basic benefits to include future care, loss of earning capacity, and human damages for pain, suffering, and loss of enjoyment of life.

How We Build a Side-Impact Case

We prepare every case as if it will be tried to a jury. That discipline often leads to better settlements, and it ensures we are ready if an insurer chooses to fight.

We secure and analyze intersection evidence like signal timing and phase data, turn-lane sequences, protected/permissive arrows, and emergency pre-emption logs where relevant. We canvass for video from traffic cameras, transit buses, businesses, and residential doorbells. We move quickly to preserve vehicles for intrusion measurements and crush analysis, download event data recorders (the vehicle’s “black box”) for speed/brake/steering inputs, and obtain cell-phone records when distraction is suspected. Our reconstruction experts model approach speeds and angles to show why the collision was inevitable, given the defendant’s choices.

Equally important, we center your medical narrative. We gather complete records, imaging, operative notes, and rehabilitation plans; we consult specialists to chart probable future care; and we translate those needs into a life-care plan with real numbers for equipment, therapies, medications, home modifications, and attendant care. For clients unable to return to their prior work—or any work—we engage economists and vocational experts to quantify lost earning capacity over a lifetime.

Comparative Fault and Blame-Shifting

Insurers know intersections can be messy and will try to scatter blame, claiming you “jumped the green,” “must have been speeding,” or “came out of nowhere.” Florida’s comparative fault rules make those arguments financially significant, as they can minimize a payout or defeat a claim entirely depending on the proportion of shared fault. We counter the insurer’s arguments with hard data: signal phasing, skid-to-stop calculations, EDR downloads, and timing analyses aligned with witness accounts. When a larger, taller vehicle struck a smaller car, we also address vehicle mismatch in our liability and damages presentation so a jury understands the physics, not just the photographs.

Catastrophic Losses Demand Full-Value Damages

Side-impact cases are not about quick settlements. They are about making sure your recovery supports the rest of your life. Depending on the facts, recoverable damages may include, for example:

• Medical care—past and future: surgeries, hospitalizations, rehab, medications, durable medical equipment, and home health or attendant care.

• Economic and human losses: lost wages, diminished earning capacity, household services, pain and suffering, loss of enjoyment of life, and, in wrongful death cases, the family’s loss of support, companionship, and guidance.

Our role is to document, prove, and demand full value at the negotiating table and, if necessary, in the courtroom.

Why Ansel & Miller

Not every personal injury law firm is built for catastrophic litigation. We are. Our lawyers do the legal work and work closely with clients; you will speak with your attorney, not just a case manager. We limit our caseload so we can do it right, thorough investigation, careful expert selection, and clear, frequent communication with you. Insurance companies recognize the value of preparation and reputation. We bring both.

Just as important, we bring heart. Our team has worked together for years, and that stability shows in how we care for clients. We return calls. We explain the “why” behind every strategic decision. We help you navigate medical providers, liens, property damage issues, and the day-to-day stress that follows a serious crash. This is personal to us because it’s personal to you.

What To Do After a Side-Impact Crash in Hollywood

Get a medical evaluation immediately, even if you were able to walk away. Lateral trauma can mask internal injuries and concussions. Preserve the vehicle if possible; do not authorize vehicle disposal before we can document intrusion and download data. Keep copies of discharge papers, imaging CDs, and follow-up referrals. Avoid discussing the crash with the other insurer before you have counsel. When you contact Ansel & Miller, we will step in to protect evidence, manage communications, and position your case for the strongest possible outcome from day one.

Talk With a Hollywood Side-Impact Crash Lawyer Today

If you or a loved one suffered serious injuries in a side-impact collision, you deserve a law firm that treats your case with the gravity it deserves and the care you need. At Ansel & Miller, when life hurts, we make it personal, and we fight for results that can carry you through what comes next.

Call our Hollywood office or contact us online for a free consultation. Let us stand with you, prove what happened, and pursue the full measure of justice your case demands.