Failing to give way in Clearwater, Florida, can lead to some severe personal injuries and horrific accidents and when these incidents involve a truck, the consequences can be even more extreme. When drivers decide to ignore the rules of the road and act negligently, they can cause accidents that take someone’s life or cause lifelong injuries that will alter a person’s life forever.
If you have been involved in a truck accident that has caused you a personal injury in the Clearwater area, speak to one of our knowledgeable Clearwater car accident lawyers at The Law Place law firm. We are experienced in dealing with accident cases such as failure to yield truck accidents. Whether you were the truck driver or not in the incident, we have experience on both sides of the courtroom and know how best to deal with your claim. We are ready to help, just call us on (941) 444-4444 for a free consultation.
Who Has Right of Way in Clearwater, Florida?
The law in Florida is very easy and clear to understand when it comes to who has right of way.
- When coming to a stop sign, you must stop and yield all right of way to any other motorists or pedestrians and cyclists.
- When on an open intersection, you have to give right of way to any vehicle already on the intersection. This also counts when you enter a cross or state highway from another road, when you drive onto an unpaved road from a paved road, or when you decide to make a left turn, and another vehicle is coming from the opposite direction.
- On a roundabout, you must give the right of way to oncoming traffic to the left.
- A driver must yield to emergency services at all times.
How Do We Prove Liability in a Failure to Yield Car Accident?
To secure a payout for an accident that isn’t your fault in Clearwater, you have to be able to prove the following:
- The other party owed you a duty of care – For example, they were meant to give you right of way.
- The other party did not uphold their duty of care – For example, the driver did not follow Florida right of way laws and didn’t yield.
- The other party’s actions caused you personal injury- As a result of the above, you ended up with injury and damages.
Every driver on the road has a duty of care to other drivers that they will act reasonably and responsibly and follow the rules of the road. However, simply failing to yield does not give you automatic grounds to a claim, and the other party will often argue the case that they were not at fault. They may even fabricate lies in order to protect themselves, and accuse you of breaking the speed limit or that they could not see the stop sign. This is another important reason to have a skilled personal injury truck accident lawyer behind you if you are fighting for compensation in Clearwater.
How Do We Gather Evidence to Prove the Other Party Failed to Yield?
A Clearwater personal injury truck accident lawyer will be able to gather evidence to help build your case. They know how to prove the other party’s liability and know how to disprove any lies.
Your lawyer will do the following to build your case:
- Visit the accident scene and look for any evidence that points towards what happens. They may use an expert witness or reconstruction who can use their expertise to help strengthen the case.
- Examine both of the vehicles involved and try to draw conclusions from the damage to both vehicles.
- Locate and speak to any of the witnesses who witnessed the accident.
- Request CCTV footage from any relevant cameras that might have recorded the accident.
What Damages Can You Claim for in Clearwater, Florida?
There are a huge number of different types of damage that you can claim when you have been in an accident that wasn’t your fault. Proving these damages will be a mixture of your personal injury lawyers’ experience and the proof you can provide. Here are some of the common damages:
- Medical bills – Any costs for injuries you have received as a result of the accident will be claimable as long as you keep all records of the bills and follow the full treatment plan a health professional has told you too.
- Loss of earnings – This compensation includes a payment to cover the money you have lost if you cannot go to work. If you damage your leg, for example, and cannot drive to work, they will have to cover your lost wages.
- Pain and suffering – Pain and suffering is an overall term that is used to describe the physical and emotional trauma an injured person experiences during the accident and recovery.
- Punitive damages – A rare form of damages that are awarded for two reasons. Either gross negligence or injury with intent.
If you can keep a note of everything you spend and all correspondence for the above damages, it could drastically help your attorney to build your case.
What Can a Clearwater, Florida Attorney Do for You?
With a skilled truck accident lawyer fighting your personal injury case, your chances of success increase enormously. You have, on average, around a 90% chance of receiving a payout, and those payouts average out at around 60% more than those who seek compensation without the help of a personal injury lawyer. This depends on the case at hand, but your chances are improved significantly by having a lawyer fighting your corner.
Here at The Law Place, you are in good hands. This means you can focus on your recovery and will make the whole experience less stressful for you during this already stressful time.
First, we will start with a free consultation. During this, a failure to yield truck accident attorney will ask some simple easy to answer questions to get a good idea of where you stand and what your chances of a successful claim are. This is no strings attached and is simply some free, honest, and unbiased advice.
If you decide to move forward and hire us, we will call you in for a more detailed meeting to discuss your case. We will get any evidence you have collected yourself, ask some more in-depth questions, and explain our fee structure and process. Once you are crystal clear on all of that, you will sign on the dotted line, and then you can put your feet up and relax.
Once one of our personal injury lawyers are on the case, they will begin their own investigations. They will speak to all the witnesses, first responders, and police officers that were at the scene. They will do all of the liaising with any insurance companies, and they will do all of your paperwork. This means you have to do very little besides the occasional phone call to update you on the case.
During this period, we will advise you to ignore any direct calls from insurance companies, witnesses, or the other party. Tell them that you only want to communicate through your Clearwater personal injury lawyer. Insurance companies will often try to contact you to get you to trip up and say something that weakens your claim. They might also offer you a settlement figure. No matter what number they offer you, refuse it; we will always be able to fight for a higher settlement; this is just a trick to lower the amount the insurance company has to payout.
Contact The Law Place
If you have been in a failure to yield collision involving a truck that was not your fault, you need a law firm with experience in truck accidents to help you.
With over 75 years of experience in dealing with accidents just like yours in the state of Florida, The Law Place can help you to get the compensation you deserve, whether you were the truck driver or another party. Book in a free consultation today by calling us on (941) 444-4444 to discuss your claim. We are open 24 hours a day seven days a week to talk to you about your case.