Richardson Failure to Yield Truck Accident Lawyer
Were you in a truck accident because another driver didn’t yield? Failing to yield causes thousands of accidents each year. These truck accidents range in severity. They could be minor fender-benders or fatal crashes.
In 2013, an estimated 13,000 people died in failure to yield crashes. According to the National Traffic Safety Council, failure to yield is the second leading cause of car accident death in the United States.
In addition to fatalities, failing to yield contributes to personal injury and vehicle damage. You may require hospitalization, physical therapy, and long-term rehabilitation after a failure to yield accident involving a truck. Truck accident injuries may also make it difficult for you to work or lead a normal life.
Don’t live with pain, emotional distress, and medical bills because a truck driver didn’t yield. If you were involved in a failure to yield truck accident in Richardson, TX, our legal team can help. Call (214) 740-4556 for a complimentary consultation. Our accident lawyers will assess your case free of charge.
You may be eligible for an accident settlement. Our lawyers will work hard on your behalf to ensure that you receive it. If we take your case and don’t win, you won’t be charged any legal fees. Why wait? Fight for your rights today and give us a call.
What Are Failure to Yield Truck Accidents?
A failure to yield accident occurs whenever one driver crashes into another because they didn’t yield. Unfortunately, these car and truck crashes are common. In most cases, they happen in parking lots, intersections, traffic circles, and four-way stops. However, a failure to yield accident involving a truck could potentially occur on any road where two vehicles pass one another.
Failure to yield truck accidents have several causes:
Confusion About Right-of-Way
This is the most common cause of failure to yield truck accidents. The term “right-of-way” refers to a transportation law governing the flow of traffic. When someone has the right-of-way, it means other drivers must yield and let them go first.
When traffic signals are present, right-of-way law is usually obvious. The vehicles with the green light get to go, while the vehicles with the red light must wait. Traffic signals also indicate the rules for turning left and yielding to pedestrians. Running a red light or driving through an intersection when a pedestrian is still in the crosswalk are examples of failing to yield the right-of-way.
However, failure to yield truck accidents often occur at intersections with stop signs instead of traffic signals. Unfortunately, many drivers don’t understand the right-of-way laws at four-way stops. If you continue through an intersection when you don’t have the right-of-way, you could collide with another truck or car.
At a four-way stop, the right-of-way belongs to the vehicle that arrived at the intersection first. If you both arrive at the same time, the driver on the right gets to go first. Whenever you’re unsure about the right-of-way, yield to the other driver. It’s always better to be cautious than to cause a truck accident.
Unsafe Merging and Lane Changes
Failure to yield accidents are also common when truck drivers are merging or changing lanes. According to the Texas Transportation Code, a driver entering traffic from the right must yield to the car or truck on the left.
In general, whichever vehicle is merging or changing lanes must yield to the traffic that’s already there. When a truck driver fails to yield under these circumstances, they cause a collision.
Reckless Driving
Reckless driving also accounts for many failure to yield truck accidents in Richardson, TX. This includes speeding, tailgating, changing lanes without signaling, and running red lights.
When a truck driver is taking unnecessary risks, they’re probably violating multiple yield laws. Negligent drivers also cause failure to yield accidents in parking lots and driveways. They may backup without checking their truck’s blind spots and fail to yield to oncoming traffic.
Driving Under the Influence
People who use illegal drugs or drink and drive are likely to cause failure to yield accidents involving trucks. To yield properly, a truck driver must be able to exercise good judgment. Driving under the influence impairs this decision-making.
Impaired truck drivers also have reduced depth perception, slower reaction time, and a poor sense of distance. They may be easily distracted, too. These factors all contribute to the risk of a failure to yield truck accident.
Other Forms of Impaired Driving
Drugs and alcohol aren’t the only form of impaired driving. A driver may be completely sober, yet still impaired by drowsiness or distraction. Whenever something prevents a truck driver from being alert and aware, accidents are liable to happen.
A tired or distracted truck driver may blow through a stop sign, back into someone, or accidentally collide with another vehicle as they change lanes. Thankfully, each of these scenarios is preventable. Never drive a truck or any vehicle when you’re fatigued and do your best to limit distractions. Use a hands-free device for your smartphone and don’t text behind the wheel.
Failure to Yield Truck Accident Injuries
Most failure to yield truck accidents that occur on the street are side-impact crashes, also known as t-bone crashes, or head-on collisions. In parking lots, failure to yield crashes tend to involve rear-ending.
Due to the diverse nature of these incidents, many different injuries can occur. Failure to yield truck accident injuries also have a range of severity. They may be mild strains, scrapes, and bruises that you can heal at home. In other cases, injuries from a failure to yield accident may require hospitalization, surgery, rehabilitation, and other long-term medical care.
The worst failure to yield truck accidents often result in these injuries:
- Head injury, including Traumatic Brain Injuries (TBIs)
- Neck and spinal cord injury
- Broken bones
- Internal bleeding and organ damage
- Third-degree burns
- Extreme psychological distress, including PTSD
If you’re facing steep medical bills as a result of a failure to yield accident involving a truck, you need a lawyer. Our Richardson, TX attorneys can build your case and help you win damages in a personal injury settlement. With our help, you can return to a normal life after your failure to yield truck accident.
Best of all, if we don’t win your case, we won’t charge for our services. What do you have to lose? Call (214) 740-4556 now to schedule your free consultation.
