In a T-bone crash, fault generally falls on whichever driver failed to yield the right of way when California law required it. Which driver that is depends on the specific situation, since the Vehicle Code assigns the duty to yield differently depending on whether the crash happened at a traffic signal, a left turn, a stop or yield sign, or a driveway or parking lot exit.
What Is a T-Bone (Broadside) Collision?
A T-bone, or broadside, collision is a crash in which the front of one vehicle strikes the side of another, usually at close to a right angle.
These crashes happen almost exclusively where one driver’s path crosses another’s, rather than where two vehicles are traveling the same direction. The most common settings are intersections controlled by a left-turn arrow or by stop and yield signs, and places where a driveway, alley, or parking lot opens onto a through street. Because the side of a vehicle offers less structure between the point of impact and the people inside than the front or rear does, a T-bone at any real speed tends to cause more serious damage to both the car and its occupants than a comparable rear-end crash.
What Is the Most Common Cause of T-Bone Accidents?
Most T-bone accidents happen when one driver fails to yield the right of way in one of three recurring situations: a left turn across oncoming traffic, a stop-sign or yield-sign intersection, and a driveway, alley, or parking lot exit onto a through street. California’s right-of-way rules name a different duty to yield for each one, and they describe what a driver is generally required to do, not a ruling on fault in any particular crash.
At a left turn made without a green arrow, Vehicle Code 21801 requires the turning driver to yield to oncoming traffic close enough to be a hazard, and to keep yielding until the turn can be made safely; once that driver has yielded and signaled, oncoming traffic must then yield to the completing turn. A driver turning on a green left-turn arrow is in a different position: that driver may enter the intersection only to make the movement the arrow shows, and still has to yield to other traffic and to pedestrians lawfully in the intersection or in an adjacent crosswalk. Where a stop sign controls fewer than all approaches to an intersection, Vehicle Code 21802 requires the stopped driver to yield to vehicles that have approached from another highway or are approaching so closely as to be an immediate hazard, and once that driver has stopped and yielded, the other approaching drivers must then yield to them. Vehicle Code 21803 sets the same two-sided rule at a yield sign, without requiring a full stop. Vehicle Code 21804 works the same way where a driveway, alley, or parking lot opens onto a through street: the driver entering or crossing the roadway must yield to approaching traffic close enough to be an immediate hazard, and once that driver has yielded, the drivers approaching on the roadway must then yield to the vehicle entering or crossing.
Who Is Usually at Fault in a T-Bone Accident?
The driver who failed to yield when the law required it is usually the one found at fault, but which driver that was is often disputed because two specific facts tend to be contested.
The first is who had the right of way at the moment of impact: at a signal, which driver had the green light; at a stop or yield sign, which driver had already stopped or yielded and which one entered late. The second is how fast the through driver, the one who did not have to yield, was actually going, because excessive speed can turn a driver who otherwise had the right of way into one who shares in causing the crash. How fault ends up divided between the two drivers is a separate question: a driver’s own negligence does not bar recovery, but instead diminishes the damages in proportion to that share, under California’s rule for apportioning fault in any car accident.
Were you sure you had the signal, or only assumed it?
Signal timing at the intersection can be pulled and checked against video, even when both drivers remember the light differently.
What Evidence Proves Fault in a T-Bone Accident?
Fault in a T-bone crash is typically proven by matching each disputed fact to the evidence that resolves it: signal timing and intersection camera or dashcam video for who had the right of way, and event data recorder readouts, witness accounts, and the damage pattern on both vehicles for how fast the through driver was going.
Traffic signal timing can be pulled from the intersection’s controller and checked against camera or dashcam footage to show which driver had the light or had already stopped. Speed is harder to argue around once it is measured: a vehicle’s event data recorder can capture speed in the seconds before impact, independent witnesses can describe what they saw, and the location and severity of the damage on each car, where the front bumper hit the door versus where it hit the rear quarter panel, for example, can show the angle and force involved.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is the person who gets hit in a T-bone accident always not at fault? No. Being the vehicle that gets hit does not by itself decide fault; fault follows whichever driver failed to yield when California’s right-of-way rules required it, and the struck driver can still share in that if, for example, they were speeding through the intersection. Each T-bone situation has its own yield rule, so the answer depends on which driver had the duty to yield in that specific crash.
Can both drivers be at fault in a T-bone crash? Yes. One driver can fail to yield when required and the other can still have contributed, most often by speeding, which is why the speed of the through driver is one of the two facts that typically gets argued in a T-bone claim. How that shared fault gets divided between the two drivers is a separate question from whether it exists at all.
Who is at fault if someone pulls out of a driveway and gets T-boned? Under California’s Vehicle Code, a driver entering or crossing a roadway from a driveway, alley, or parking lot must yield to approaching traffic close enough to be an immediate hazard, so that driver is usually the one expected to yield before pulling out. Once that driver has yielded and it is safe to proceed, the oncoming traffic must then yield to them, so the exact timing of when each driver moved still matters.
If you were hit broadside and are not sure which driver the law expected to yield, it is worth having someone look at the specific signal, sign, or driveway involved in your crash. Consultations come with no fee unless we win, and no case costs charged if there is no recovery. Call 310-600-7881 for a free case review, or send us the details and we will call you back.
