Failure to Yield When Entering an Interstate
All drivers on Florida roads have a legal obligation to obey traffic laws and road signs, including yield signs. In Jacksonville, we see a lot of failure to yield accidents when one car is entering an interstate as we have many interstate highways here including: I-95; I-10; I-295 West; and I-295 East. In addition, Jacksonville has numerous expressways where the same rules apply including: the Arlington Expressway; Martin Luther King Parkway; and J. Turner Butler Boulevard. If you have been injured in an accident due to another driver's failure to yield when entering an interstate or expressway, we can help. At The Lawrence Law Group, our Jacksonville car accident attorneys have the experience, skill, and dedication to aggressively fight for your rights. We are committed to holding negligent drivers accountable for the harm that they cause and facilitating the road to recovery for innocent victims.
Pursuing Compensation for Accidents Caused by a Failure to Yield When Entering an InterstateA yield sign indicates to drivers that they must prepare to stop unless the way is clear for them to proceed. A failure to yield accident takes place on an interstate when a driver improperly fails to yield to drivers who are already on the highway, causing a high-speed crash. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, a failure to yield the right of way caused over 3,000 crashes nationally in 2014, for example.
If you were hurt due to another driver’s failure to yield on the interstate, you may pursue reimbursement for your injuries, lost wages, and medical bills by establishing that the other driver was negligent. To do this, your lawyer must demonstrate that the other driver failed to yield when traffic rules required them to do so, and that such failure was a direct cause of the accident and your subsequent injuries. Florida Statute § 316.123 provides that drivers approaching a yield sign must slow down to a reasonable speed and, if required, stop for safety.
A driver must yield the right of way to any vehicle that may constitute an immediate hazard. Under this statute, if a driver is involved in an accident past a yield sign without stopping, the accident will be deemed prima facie evidence of the driver’s failure to yield the right of way. This means that a driver’s failure to yield will provide a rebuttal presumption of negligence in a personal injury case. The presumption is “rebuttable” because the merging driver can still present evidence that the driver already on the interstate was actually at fault.
Under Florida law, victims of failure to yield accidents may be entitled to various forms of damages, including past and future medical expenses, past and future lost income, past and future pain and suffering, and any property damage that resulted from the crash. Having a skilled car accident attorney on your side may be critical to establishing fault and the degree of harm that you suffered.
Contact an Auto Accident Attorney in the Jacksonville AreaIf you or someone you know has been hurt because of a failure to yield when entering an interstate, it is important to hire a knowledgeable motor vehicle collision attorney as soon as possible. At The Lawrence Law Group, our Jacksonville lawyers are dedicated to protecting our clients’ rights and helping them seek the compensation that they deserve. We proudly represent injured people across northeast Florida, including in Duval, Clay, St. Johns, Baker, Nassau, Flagler, Putnam, Brevard, Union, Columbia, Suwannee, Hamilton, Jefferson, Volusia, and Alachua Counties. To set up a free consultation to talk to us in more detail about your case, call us at 904-632-0077 or contact us online.