What happens if I was injured in a car accident because the driver of the other vehicle failed to yield right of way?
Motor vehicle accidents in Syracuse and Central New York can result from any number of causes. Often, car accidents and accidents involving other types of motor vehicles happen when another driver doesn’t follow the traffic safety laws in effect at the time and place of the accident. When someone driving a motor vehicle – a car, a truck, a motorcycle, for example – fails to follow the rules of the road, a court will in all likelihood find the driver in question to be negligent and will more often than not hold that driver responsible for personal injury to others involved in the accident, as well as property losses attributable as a result of such negligence.
Car Accidents & Failure to Yield Right of Way
One of the more common mistakes drivers make is “failure to yield” to other vehicles or to pedestrians. In most instances, drivers are required by New York State law to yield right of way:
- When making a left- or right-hand turn
- At intersections, including four-way stops
- When trying to merge from a ramp or other road
- For pedestrians in a crosswalk
- When entering a street from a driveway or other private road
- To emergency vehicles when they sound their alarm
While failing to yield in any of the above scenarios could result in a serious car accident, the most common type of failure to yield accident occurs, as one might expect, at intersections. Sometimes a car crash can result at an intersection when someone runs a red light. Similarly, multiple drivers at a four-way stop may be confused about who has the right of way to proceed through the intersection first. Sometimes drivers disregard traffic signals intentionally, or have been distracted by children in the car with them, or are perhaps texting when they should be paying attention to the road in front of them. And how many drivers, when turning, are looking at oncoming traffic and not at a pedestrian in the crosswalk that is directly in their path.
Because failure to yield car accidents happen most often at intersections, serious car accidents accompanied by traumatic injuries to drivers and passengers can happen with catastrophic results. Broadside car accidents can result in traumatic brain injury and even death since car doors provide considerably less protection for motor vehicle operators than accidents where the point of collision is the front or rear bumper crumple area. And pedestrians who are struck by a moving car have virtually no protection whatever and are therefore most likely to suffer the most serious injuries of all.
Contact a Syracuse Personal Injury Attorney Right Away
Without a doubt, the biggest mistake people make in the aftermath of an injury is not consulting an experienced Syracuse personal injury lawyer immediately. The experienced personal injury attorneys at McMahon, Kublick, PC will work one-on-one with you to make sure that you are not coerced by insurance companies, insurance adjusters, or your employer into signing anything that will hurt your personal injury lawsuit or workers’ compensation claim. Call our Syracuse office at (315) 424-1105 or reach out online now to schedule a free, private consultation – either in-person or virtually from the privacy of your own home – today.
