A vehicle rollover is among the most frightening accidents anyone can have and one that often results in devastating injuries and death.

There are many reasons for rollovers, one of which is swerving to avoid a collision. The driver will usually overcorrect in trying to steer the vehicle back on track, which may cause the car to flip.

How the rollover may happen

Let us say you and your family have just left your home in Charleston and are driving to Florida for a vacation. You are in the slow lane about an hour along on the interstate when a work truck comes abreast of you. The bed of the truck is heavily loaded with some kind of debris. The driver is having trouble controlling the vehicle. Suddenly, it drifts sharply into your lane. You quickly serve to the right to avoid contact, but you then overcorrect. Your SUV skids on gravel at the side of the freeway, flipping to the left and just missing the back end of the truck as it rolls over.

Surviving the accident

You and your family survive, partly because you were all wearing seatbelts and because you have a late-model SUV with the latest safety features, including side-curtain airbags. Still, your two daughters suffer broken bones. Testing shows that your spouse has a traumatic brain injury, and you sustain damage to your spine. Despite these injuries, the aftermath of the accident could have been worse. Statistics indicate that many occupants are thrown out of their vehicles during a violent rollover crash; most become fatalities.

Determining liability

With conservative treatment, your doctor believes your injury will heal in time. Recovery will take weeks for your daughters, and your spouse will likely have a lifelong impairment of some kind as a result of the brain injury. Litigation is the norm for rollover cases, but in a solid defense, liability may extend to several parties: the trucker, the trucking company and whoever was responsible for overloading the work truck. You have a right to expect compensation to cover your family’s medical expenses, the damage to your SUV and more. Explore your legal options without delay.