Your Trusted Personal Injury Lawyers in Waterford, CT
Whenever we get behind the wheel, we are entering an unspoken agreement with the drivers around us to place our trust in one another. Many moments on the road require a careful adherence to the law and an attentive analysis of the situation at hand. When drivers fail to uphold their duty to both traffic laws and attention, serious accidents can result.
Failure to yield car accidents in Waterford are among some of the more common types of crashes, and the results can be costly and frustrating. Our car accident attorneys are ready to guide you through the legal process.
Right-of-way regulations are determined by Connecticut General Statutes § 14-245-299. These laws establish that drivers must yield to oncoming traffic when turning left and to pedestrians in both marked and unmarked crosswalks. They also lay out the right-of-way at intersections, including rules that those entering highways from private roads or any road from an alley must yield to oncoming traffic.
Failure to yield accidents can happen anywhere roadways intersect, but they can be particularly dangerous on highways in Waterford. When sightlines are limited, drivers may misjudge the distance needed to adequately yield to oncoming vehicles. These can be particularly common for out-of-town drivers who are unfamiliar with the roadways.
Another common cause of failure to yield accidents is intersection confusion. When drivers attempt a rolling stop where the vehicle does not come to a complete stop at an intersection, it can cause others to hesitate or misjudge their turn. When drivers do not understand who has the right of way, multiple vehicles can attempt to move forward simultaneously, resulting in a crash.
Aggressive drivers, especially on highways, can cause failure to yield accidents if they merge onto highways without properly yielding to oncoming traffic already on the roadway. These accidents may include side swipes and rear-end collisions and can be especially dangerous due to the high rate of speed.
Following a failure to yield accident, evidence from police reports, eyewitnesses, and dashcam footage can be used to establish fault. Typically, those who sustain injuries or have wrecked cars from these accidents will work with the insurance company of the other driver to seek a settlement.
Insurance companies may attempt to establish fault in a way that limits their liabilities. In these cases, an attorney can help gather additional evidence and ensure that a thorough, accurate picture of the accident is presented.
Connecticut uses a modified comparative negligence framework that applies to personal injury cases like car accidents. Under this framework, a driver who is found to be more than 50% at fault cannot seek compensation. However, drivers who are 50% or less at fault can seek comparative compensation for any losses. In these cases, payments will be reduced in proportion to the amount of fault assigned to the recipient.
This comparative negligence framework is particularly important in failure to yield car accidents because there are often multiple elements involved in the crash in Waterford. If one driver is going above the speed limit while another fails to yield, both may be found partially at fault for the resulting crash. The percentage of fault will be important in determining whether or not compensation is available.
If you have mounting medical or repair bills following involvement in failure to yield car accidents in Waterford, you do not have to deal with insurance companies alone. We are here to help, and you can call to talk with a lawyer who will go over your case and discuss the next steps. Reach out today.
We are committed to provide personalized attention to each and every client’s case – no matter how large or small– because that is each client’s only case. We are proud of our firm’s reputation of combining integrity and compassion with an unflinching dedication to getting the right result. We will do what we say.
