Failure to Yield Accidents

All drivers are supposed to obey road rules so that they can avoid injuring others. However, many drivers operate their vehicles without heeding right-of-way rules. If you were harmed in a failure to yield accident caused by another driver, a seasoned Syracuse car accident attorney can help you determine your legal options. The skillful trial lawyers of DeFrancisco & Falgiatano may be able to evaluate whether you have a viable claim and help you pursue damages.

In New York, car accident victims who suffer injuries must turn to their own no fault insurance first. However, it is possible to sue the at-fault driver in court if a failure to yield accident resulted in “serious injuries.” Serious injuries could include permanent disability, fractures, disfigurement, amputation, and other injuries that disrupt your usual daily activities for at least 90 days during the 180-day-period following the accident.

Failure to yield accidents happen if a driver doesn’t yield in a situation where yielding is called for, and the result is a crash. Failure to yield accidents often happen when there is a red or flashing yellow light, at a four way intersection, when a driver is entering the street from a private driveway, or where a driver fails to yield to a pedestrian who is already in a crosswalk. Sometimes the accident victim drives into the car that doesn’t yield and is at fault for the accident.

In order to recover damages in a lawsuit brought based on a failure to yield accident that resulted in serious injuries, you will most likely need to prove negligence by a preponderance of the evidence. You’ll need to show it’s more likely than not: (1) the other driver owed you a duty of reasonable care, (2) breach of the duty of reasonable care, (3) causation, and (4) damages. The jury will look at whether the defendant owed a duty to yield and whether the failure to yield is both the actual and legal cause of the accident.

There are several codified right of way rules in New York. Under section 1140, which covers vehicles entering or coming towards an intersection, the driver of the approaching vehicle is supposed to yield the right of way to a vehicle that entered the intersection from a different highway. If both vehicles come into the intersection from different highways at once, the driver of the vehicle on the left is supposed to give the right of way to the vehicle that is on the right. For example, if you come to a four way intersection at the same time as another driver, and you are on the right, you have the right of way. If instead, the driver on the left T-bones you, this would be a violation of the right of way rules. Under section 1143, the driver of a vehicle about to come into or cross a road from any place other than another road is supposed to yield the right of way to all vehicles approaching on the road to be entered or crossed.

If you are injured by another driver’s failure to yield, you may be able to recover compensatory damages. Compensatory damages are meant to put a plaintiff back in the position he or she would have been in had the accident not happened. They can include both economic and noneconomic losses. Economic losses are tangible losses arising out of the injuries from a failure to yield accident such as medical bills, lost wages, household services, out-of-pocket costs, and vocational rehabilitation. Noneconomic losses can include pain and suffering, lost earning capacity, and disfigurement.

If you were seriously injured or lost a loved one in a failure to yield accident in Syracuse, an experienced personal injury attorney can assess whether you have a viable claim. The lawyers at DeFrancisco & Falgiatano represent car accident victims and their families. We also represent clients in Rochester, Utica, Elmira, Lyons, Auburn, Canandaigua, Wampsville, Cooperstown, Watertown, Oswego, Lowville, Oneida, Herkimer, Norwich, Ithaca, and Binghamton. Please call us at 833-200-2000 or contact us via our online form.