When you are driving, it is a good idea to pay attention to what is going on around you. That unfortunately did not happen in this case.

There are some moments that are best forgotten. In particular, those moments when you are not paying attention to the traffic around you and cause a nasty accident can haunt you for years to come. It is even worse if you happen to be a cop and are the at-fault party. There is no living that one down back at the station. This reported case will be under investigation until the responding officers are able to figure out what went wrong.

This was a two car wreck, and both of the drivers were badly injured enough that they needed to be taken to the hospital by the emergency first responders. Both were also listed in serious condition. No one saw this one coming, not even the police officer in the cruiser involved in the accident. At least, that is what it appears from the information in the accident report.

The details, while still a bit sketchy, point to a 27-year-old woman driving on the highway who slowed down to make a left-hand turn onto a street. At that very moment, she was t-boned by the police cruiser that was being driven by the 33-year-old officer. The wreck shut down the highway while accident scene investigators tried to determine what happened.

There are two things going on here, and we can only speculate the order of events. Either the woman made an illegal left-hand turn in front of the cop car, or the cop car was not paying attention to where he was going. He may have been speeding to a call, in which case he was hopefully using his lights and siren. Or he may have been on the radio or reaching for something on the front seat. Similar scenarios may apply to the woman as well. She may not have looked before turning, was on her cell phone, reached for a coffee on the dashboard or was chatting with someone in the car.

The bottom line is that both victims may choose to file personal injury lawsuits in order to recover compensation for their injuries. If nothing else, this accident shows how bizarre personal injury accidents can be and how each driver involved may end up suing the other person. Depending on which state an accident happens in, there may also be fault apportioned by a percentage when the case gets to court.

Whatever you do, do not try to settle matters like this by dealing with the insurance company directly. Their only goal is to reduce, diminish, defer or deny your claim. They would rather keep the insurance money than give it away to a victim.

Charlie Donahue is a New Hampshire personal injury lawyer located in Keene. Donahue handles injury cases in New Hampshire and across the United States. To learn more about New Hampshire injury attorney, Charlie Donahue, visit Donahuelawfirm.com.