West Palm Beach Failure to Yield Accident Lawyer

People who are seriously hurt and loved ones who are killed by a driver who disobeyed Florida’s right-of-way laws need to protect their legal rights and personal finances through legal action. If you have been injured in a failure to yield incident, Kogan & DiSalvo can help you. A skilled car accident attorney with years of experience working on these type of cases is prepared to hold the offending driver financially responsible by helping you pursue damages.

Legal Right to Recover Damages

Individuals and families harmed may claim damages under Florida’s comparative negligence doctrine. It holds that those who cause harm or property damage by performing in a careless manner can be held financially responsible. If two or more of the parties involved have some blame, the amount of the damages in each claim are diminished by the percentage of fault each bear.

Failing to Yield Frequency

Yielding the right-of-way is a basic tenet of driving safely and showing respect for others who share the road. Yet, that respect is sometimes ignored by some drivers, collisions happen, and ambulances are summoned. If a pedestrian is hit, injuries can be life-threatening or life-ending, depending upon the speed of impact and the age of the pedestrian.

Violating Florida’s yield laws is second to head-on collisions in causing the most severe injuries and deaths, according to a 2015 report from the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles. During 2015, violations of right-of-way laws were responsible for 554 deaths and 28,242 people being injured. Of all traffic deaths, failure to yield totals 19.25 percent of them, and of all traffic injuries, failure to yield law ranks at 17.32 percent of the total.

Drivers who break the yield law without causing any harm are cited, and fined between $125.50 and $151 plus court cost, according to Florida statutes. If a pedestrian’s right-of-way is violated in a crosswalk, the fine is increased to $164. The state also charges the offender’s driving privilege three points. A license can be suspended for 30 days if the offender reaches 12 points on the license within a year.

Yielding Laws

A West Palm Beach failure to yield accident lawyer should have an extensive knowledge of Florida’s yield laws. Yield laws require that a driver approaching a yield sign must slow to a speed that is prudent for the situation, and to stop for pedestrians before entering a crosswalk or an intersection that does not have a painted crosswalk.

The most common breaches of Florida yield laws happen when drivers do not yield to merging traffic, such as freeway on-ramps, making a left turn, nearing a bicycle rider, running red lights, and in parking lots.

Other required yielding situations:

• When emergency vehicles are approaching
• For school buses embarking or disembarking passengers
• As transit buses are getting back into traffic lanes after a stop
• For roadway working crews and flaggers directing traffic
• When turning left unless a traffic arrow permits
• To all vehicles when approaching a non-yielding road or highway
• To traffic on the right when entering a road from another road
• To the vehicle on the right at four-way stop signs

Contacting a Failure to Yield Accident Lawyer

Failure to yield collisions can be upsetting and traumatizing to go through. The trauma coupled with the unanticipated financial burden of treating your injuries, and making the necessary car repairs, can make it that much more difficult. If you or a loved one has been involved in any type of failure to yield accident, do not hesitate to get in touch with a West Palm Beach failure to yield accident lawyer. An attorney can examine all of the aspects of your case, advise you of your legal options, and help you to decide what steps you should take next. Speak with a compassionate and determined lawyer that can help you pursue the damages that you deserve.