Failure to Yield Accidents

Failure to yield accidents may happen in many different ways. Sometimes a driver fails to obey an express “yield” sign and crashes into another driver. In other cases, however, the right of way is governed by law.

For example, in Tennessee, if there is a vehicle already in an intersection, you are supposed to yield to it. If you are turning left, you are supposed to yield to oncoming traffic as well as traffic turning right in front of you. If you are coming onto a main road from a driveway or parking lot, you are supposed to yield the right of way to cars and other vehicles that are already on the road. At a four-way intersection, whichever vehicle arrived first is supposed to have the right of way, and if two arrive in the intersection at once, the vehicle on the right is supposed to have the right of way.

A driver’s failure to yield the right of way as appropriate may be considered negligent. In bringing a case to trial, we will need to show that another driver’s failure to yield was the legal cause of the victim’s injuries and damages. If a failure to yield was a violation of a safety statute or ordinance, we may be able to establish negligence per se, which means negligence as a matter of law. This can create a presumption of negligence in the plaintiff’s favor if a driver’s violation of a safety law was the cause of injuries of the type that the law was designed to prevent. The presumption may shift the focus from liability to damages.

However, in many cases, a defendant can challenge the plaintiff’s case by claiming that the plaintiff did not have the right of way or that the plaintiff’s own fault caused the accident and their injuries. Each state has its own rules regarding comparative fault. Tennessee follows a rule of modified comparative negligence, in which a plaintiff found to be 50% or more at fault will be barred from recovering damages. You should not discuss the accident with an at-fault driver’s insurer without first contacting an attorney because the insurer is likely to try to exploit what you say to argue that the accident was partially or fully your fault. Our firm may retain an accident reconstruction expert if appropriate to establish that the defendant’s failure to yield caused the victim’s injuries.