Bradley County Failure to Yield Lawyer
Failing to yield to oncoming traffic in various situations is a near-universal traffic safety rule. Violations of failure to yield laws could not only result in traffic tickets and criminal charges, but also could result in civil liability for injuries resulting from any accidents caused by drivers’ negligent actions in failing to yield as required.
For those who suffer devastating injuries in motor vehicle accidents, getting legal advice and counsel from a Bradley County failure to yield lawyer may be beneficial. Reach out to an experienced car accident lawyer today.
Establishing Liability in Failure to Yield Cases
All drivers owe a duty to exercise reasonable care for the safety of other drivers, passengers, and pedestrians. A major element of the duty of reasonable care for drivers is to comply with all traffic safety rules and regulations. Tennessee traffic laws define situations in which drivers must yield to others.
For instance, Tenn. Code § 55-8-128 provides that when drivers are approaching an intersection that another vehicle has entered from another highway or drive, they must yield to that vehicle. When drivers fail to abide by these rules of the road, they may be negligent and therefore liable for any injuries that result.
How Could Attorneys Establish Negligence in a Car Accident Case?
One way that individuals may be able to establish drivers’ failure to yield in personal injury cases is through evidence of traffic tickets or misdemeanor criminal charges resulting from the accident.
When drivers violate § 55-8-128 or other traffic laws concerning a driver’s duty to yield, law enforcement officers may issue responsible parties a traffic citation.
Additionally, when drivers violate this code section and cause an accident that results in serious bodily injury or death to another, they could be subject to a misdemeanor criminal charge pursuant to Tenn. Code § 55-8-197.
A traffic ticket or criminal charge that is issued as a result of an accident may entitle injured individuals to a finding of “per se” negligence. This means that when drivers violate a traffic law that is specifically designed to safeguard others, the negligence of those drivers may be inferred.
Recoverable Losses in Bradley County Failure to Yield Cases
If injury victims are able to establish negligence in failure to yield claims, they may be entitled to recover several different kinds of damages, including both economic and non-economic damages. Economic damages are readily quantifiable losses, such as medical bills, rehabilitation expense, surgical costs, and lost wages. Non-economic damages may include compensation for pain and suffering, emotional distress, and other losses that may be more difficult to quantify but are nonetheless compensable in some situations.
Comparative Negligence
Tennessee follows a modified comparative negligence law in cases in which injured drivers may be at least partially at fault for the accidents that led to their injuries.
Under this legal principle, so long as individuals are less 49% or less responsible for the accident that led to their injuries, they still are able to recover damages from their losses related to the accident.
If, for instance, two drivers are each equally or 50 percent responsible for causing an accident in which one driver is seriously injured, however, injured drivers would be unable to recover any damages despite the severity of their injuries.
Failure to Yield Claims and the Statute of Limitations
All states have laws in place that govern the timeframes in which individuals may file personal injury claims or any other lawsuits. The purpose of this timeframe, or statutes of limitations, is to ensure that claims are made in a timely fashion and that individuals are not served with lawsuits years or even decades after an accident has occurred.
Pursuant to Tenn. Code § 28-3-104, injury victims have one year from the date of the accident in which they suffered injuries in which to file a personal injury claim against potentially liable parties. There are a few exceptions to this general rule, but a failure to meet the applicable statute of limitations can result in a total loss of any claims.
Work with a Bradley County Failure to Yield Attorney Today
Accidents stemming from drivers’ failure to yield as required by law can result in catastrophic injuries that may impair your daily life activities and ability to work for an extended period of time, or even permanently in some cases.
When others’ negligence has caused the accident that led to your injuries, you may have a legal claim for compensation from those individuals.
There are strict deadlines, however, for filing any personal injury claims in Tennessee, so consulting with a Bradley County failure to yield lawyer as quickly as possible may be key to your ability to file such a claim.
