Failure to Yield Accidents

Car Crash Lawyers Helping Raleigh Residents

Automobile accidents may happen in many different ways, including a motorist’s failure to yield the right of way to someone else. This may happen when a driver makes a left turn without yielding to oncoming traffic, when a driver enters a highway from a parking lot or private driveway without checking for other vehicles on the road, or when a driver cuts into traffic too quickly when merging from an on-ramp or off-ramp, among other situations. If you or someone close to you has been hurt by a careless driver’s failure to yield, the knowledgeable Raleigh car accident attorneys at Maurer Law are here to help you try to hold the responsible party accountable for your injuries or your loved one’s wrongful death.

Pursuing a Failure to Yield Accident Lawsuit in North Carolina

The first step in seeking compensation for medical expenses, lost wages, and pain and suffering that resulted from a failure to yield accident involves filing a negligence action against the at-fault motorist in civil court. Although the at-fault driver may be given a citation or charged criminally, this does not result in adequate payments to the injured person. If they can prove that the defendant breached a duty of care and that this was a proximate cause of their injuries, the victim may receive compensation through a settlement with the defendant’s insurance company or a judgment in court if the case proceeds to trial.

North Carolina is a “pure contributory negligence” state. Although most states have comparative fault laws that reduce a plaintiff’s damages if they are found to have been partially to blame for an accident, in North Carolina and a few other states, even the slightest degree of negligence on the plaintiff’s part may prevent them from receiving any compensation at all. Thus, a defendant in a failure to yield case has a huge incentive to pin part of the blame for the crash on the plaintiff in order to avoid paying compensation to the plaintiff for their injuries. However, an aggressive personal injury attorney may be able to defeat these efforts in many cases.

Also, the North Carolina statute of limitations sets a certain time period for the filing of claims related to personal injury or wrongful death. A failure to promptly file a lawsuit usually results in the dismissal of the plaintiff’s complaint, regardless of how strong their case of liability may have been against the defendant. It is important to retain a motor vehicle collision attorney who will be vigilant about this timeline and any other procedural rules that may apply to your case.

Discuss Your Car Accident Claim with a Raleigh Attorney

A careless motorist’s failure to yield the right of way may result in life-altering injuries to an innocent victim or even a tragic loss of life. If your family is suffering because of a failure to yield accident, you should talk to a motor vehicle collision attorney as soon as possible to make sure that every effort is made toward pursuing maximum compensation for your injuries or your loved one’s death. Call Maurer Law at 888-258-1087 or contact us online for a free consultation with a Raleigh car accident lawyer. In most cases, we work on a contingency fee contract, so you do not need to pay a legal fee upfront to get your case started. We represent people in many communities across North Carolina, including Raleigh, Durham, Fayetteville, Hickory, and Chapel Hill.