Failure to Yield Accidents in Gainesville

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In Gainesville, the failure to yield law is determined entirely by who has the right of way at a particular point in the road. Failing to yield means that a motorist did not allow the person with right of way to proceed first.

These types of collisions often occur at intersections and can make for difficult civil cases if the drivers disagree on what actually occurred. If you were injured because another person did not respect your right of way, speak to an attorney with experience handling failure to yield accidents in Gainesville. The knowledgeable lawyers at Smith Hulsey could explain the local traffic laws and work to recover the compensation you need.

Common Causes of Gainesville Failure to Yield Collisions

Drivers often become unsure of who has right of way in intersections, especially those with multiple lanes running into each other. Entrances to parking lots or private property along the road can also cause confusion. Failure to yield crashes typically happen when drivers do not pay close attention to lane lines, signs, or traffic signals.

The most common scenario for this type of collision involves left-turning drivers. If a motorist is turning left in an intersection, they must yield to oncoming traffic unless they have a dedicated green turning arrow. Our local attorneys have also handled many cases where a driver making a right turn on red fails to yield to other cars or pedestrians that have right of way.

Proving Right of Way in Failure to Yield Crashes

In a failure to yield case, any citations or warnings by the responding police officer will be an important factor in determining who was liable for the accident. Additionally, a skilled attorney could gather information about the signs and traffic signals at the site of the crash to help establish that an injured plaintiff had right of way.

However, these cases can be complicated by various factors. For instance, even if a driver fails to yield the right of way, the other person may be found partially liable if they committed a traffic violation and could have avoided a collision otherwise. Common factors that could affect a failure to yield accident case include:

  • Speeding: if a driver was speeding and could have avoided the collision otherwise, they may be found partially at fault even if they had right of way
  • Sign visibility: a lawyer could argue that a lack of proper or visible signs contributed to a failure to yield accident, since the driver could not have known who had right of way
  • Construction zones: lanes, yield signs, and other rules of the road can be altered in construction zones, making it difficult to determine who had right of way

In failure to yield cases, it often comes down to one person’s word against the other. Drivers can have starkly different stories about who arrived at the intersection and started to proceed first. As such, it is crucial for anyone injured in this type of accident to enlist the help of a skilled attorney. A lawyer with experience in Gainesville failure to yield collisions could collect evidence from the accident, determine where the vehicles were at the time of impact, and look for consistencies and contradictions in witness statements to establish the facts of the case.

Work with a Lawyer for Failure to Yield Accidents in Gainesville

Even if the responding officer cited the other driver, it can still be difficult to recover adequate compensation in these types of cases. Often, the parties involved will have different stories of what happened and who had right of way, requiring a dedicated legal team to investigate and establish the facts of the collision.

If you were injured because another driver failed to respect your right of way, speak with an attorney who focuses on failure to yield accidents in Gainesville. The hardworking lawyers at Smith Hulsey could assess the viability of your case and advise you on seeking compensation for your losses. Contact us today to talk to a skilled member of our team.

Smith Hulsey Law

Smith Hulsey Law
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