Nashville Car Accidents at Intersections and Stoplights

Nashville is a growing city with busy roadways and heavy traffic. As a result, accidents at busy intersections and stoplights occur frequently. Some of the most dangerous intersections in the greater Nashville area include Hickory Hollow Parkway and Mount View Road, Bell Road and Murfreesboro Pike, 8th Avenue and Lafayette Street, and Harding Place and Sidco Drive. Many of these crashes are caused by texting while driving or another form of distracted driving.

In a wreck at an intersection or four-way stop, it is often difficult for the responding police officer to determine who was at fault since the at-fault party may be hesitant to admit responsibility. It may become a swearing match, with each party blaming the other for running the red light or stop sign. If the drivers provide conflicting statements as to how the accident occurred, particularly who had the green light or right-of-way at the time of the collision, the police officer may decline to issue any traffic citations for the accident or indicate fault in any way on the police report.

In this scenario, the other driver’s insurance company may deny your claim outright or assess 50% fault against each driver based on the conflicting statements, which will also leave the injured party without any recovery under Tennessee’s comparative fault system. Under this doctrine, a party normally must be less than 50% liable for the accident in order to receive compensation from the other driver. If the injured party is 50% or more at fault for the wreck, that person may be barred from recovery altogether.

If you have been injured in a car accident at an intersection or stoplight, you should contact an experienced lawyer who handles car accident cases in Nashville. Immediately following the wreck, the other party’s insurance company may request a recorded statement from you. In a recorded statement, the insurance adjuster will ask you a series of questions about the events leading up to and surrounding the accident. The liability adjuster can use any admissions you make to try and assert comparative fault against you to reduce what they owe you. If it is your insurance company requesting the statement, they may end up taking a position adverse to yours later in the case. However, if you retain your own lawyer in a timely fashion, he or she should be present during any recorded statement so that your legal rights can be protected.

To establish liability for your accident, it is helpful to reach out to any eyewitnesses and obtain their recollection as to how the accident happened. It is important to question witnesses soon after the accident while they can still vividly remember the details. Important physical evidence may also be obtained from the accident scene itself such as skid marks, tire tracks, and the like, making it important to retain a law firm that will utilize investigators and accident reconstruction experts when necessary to obtain and review evidence from the accident scene. Other evidence like video footage may be obtained via subpoena.