Whether it’s an error from merging into another lane, refusing to yield to another vehicle that has the right of way, or deliberately cutting someone off, failing to yield on the road can have serious consequences, including the potential to cause a serious accident.
Being involved in a motorcycle accident due to another motorist’s failure to yield can mean severe injuries, and you need to understand the process of protecting your legal rights.
What Is a Failure-to-Yield Accident?
Essentially, yielding means you need to wait for another vehicle, motorcyclist, bicyclist, or pedestrian before you may proceed because the other party has the legal right to proceed first. This can result from a traffic light or sign giving the other party the right of way or while merging, taking a turn, coming out of a parking lot, or failing to yield at a crosswalk or intersection.
While they might seem minor, failing to yield can be the cause of a serious accident. In fact, the Insurance Information Institute reports that motorists who failed to yield were responsible for 7% of fatal collisions in 2019.
Where and How Do Most Failure to Yield Accidents Occur?
A motorcycle accident caused by failure to yield can happen in several different scenarios. For example:
- Failing to yield at a traffic light, flashing traffic light, yield sign, or other pertinent traffic sign
- Driving aggressively and purposefully cutting off another motorist
- Making a turn and failing to yield to others who have the right of way
- Failing to yield at a crosswalk or intersection
- Failing to yield when merging
- Failing to yield when coming out of a parking lot
- Driving distracted, drowsy, or under the influence and inadvertently cutting off another motorist
- Failing to yield to emergency vehicles or in other situations where required
How Can You Recover Compensation for Injuries in a Failure-to-Yield Motorcycle Accident?
To recover compensation for the damages you have suffered in a motorcycle accident, you will generally need to file a claim for negligence against the at-fault party, which requires you to prove four elements:
- A duty of reasonable care that the other party owed you on the road
- Breach of that duty — in this case, by failing to yield when they were required to do so
- Causation, meaning that the other party’s failure to yield directly caused your injuries
- Damages, both economic and non-economic losses you have suffered as a result of the accident
In a motorcycle accident that results from another party’s failure to yield, some of the following injuries can be common:
- Head injuries, concussions, and traumatic brain injuries
- Back, neck, and spinal injuries, sometimes including partial or full paralysis
- Broken or fractured bones
- Injuries to internal organs or internal bleeding
- Limb amputations
- Burns, road rash, and other abrasions
- Whiplash and other soft tissue injuries
- Scars or disfigurement
- In the most extreme cases, wrongful death
Suffering a personal injury during a failure-to-yield motorcycle accident often means accumulating hefty expenses. Some of those expenses include medical and hospital bills, along with doctor’s and specialists’ visits, the costs of prescription medication, and expenses for home care, nursing care, or rehabilitative care.
You may also face the added expense of repairing or replacing your motorcycle, including hefty mechanic’s bills. You may also lose wages or income if you cannot work due to your accident. General damages, such as pain and suffering, mental anguish, scarring or disfigurement, and a decline in your quality of life, are also possible to recover.
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Proving Fault in a Failure-to-Yield Motorcycle Accident
In some cases, proving fault in a motorcycle accident involving a party who failed to yield can be tricky — after all, some of these situations will involve the victim striking the at-fault driver who failed to yield as required. This can make the facts of the case confusing, necessitating a thorough investigation and the need to carefully preserve important evidence such as witness statements, photographs of the scene, and potentially video footage if available.
When you’re going up against the other party’s insurance company — which typically will have significant legal and financial resources — they may seize the opportunity to capitalize on that confusion and use it against you as you attempt to prove the facts in your claim.
For those reasons, it is imperative that you consult with a knowledgeable motorcycle accident attorney who can discuss your legal rights, go over options and potential next steps, and offer guidance regarding case strategy. It can be difficult to prove fault in a motorcycle accident case that involves the other party’s failure to yield.
An experienced motorcycle accident lawyer can investigate the facts of your case, preserve evidence, research the specific laws involved, and prepare and file your claim. They can also negotiate with the other party and their insurance company towards a settlement offer, and if a settlement is not possible, they will prepare your case to argue on your behalf in court.
How Can Bretz Injury Law Help if You’ve Been Injured in a Failure-to-Yield Motorcycle Accident?
At Bretz Injury Law, we fight to help motorcycle accident victims recover fair compensation for all of their physical, emotional, and financial losses. Our Kansas motorcycle aggressive driving accident lawyers know how to build powerful claims and aggressively negotiate with insurance companies for fair settlements, but when this is not possible, we are fully prepared to represent our clients at trial.
If you’ve been injured in a motorcycle accident as a result of someone else’s failure to yield, you shouldn’t have to shoulder the aftermath on your own. At Bretz Injury Law, you get more than a single lawyer on your side; you get an entire team of experienced legal professionals all working together to secure the best possible outcome on your behalf.
Our Kansas personal injury lawyers can help you understand your rights and fight for the fair compensation you are owed. Contact us today to schedule your free consultation.
Contact us today to schedule a free, confidential case evaluation, or simply call our law office at (620) 662-3435
