Michigan’s Failure to Yield Car Accidents Lawyer

Other drivers’ behavior influences your safety when you’re on the road. Another driver’s mistake or lapse in concentration can lead to an accident that causes you serious injury. Among the several common infractions drivers commit, failure to yield is one of the most common.

According to Michigan Traffic Crash Facts, 218,666 accidents since 2017 can be attributed to a driver’s failure to yield. Of these crashes, 57,927 resulted in at least one injury, while another 635 resulted in the death of a driver.

Cochran, Kroll, & Associates, P.C. has years of experience handling failure to yield accident cases. We can help you file a claim for your injuries and receive maximum compensation to pay for medical bills, lost wages, and other accident-related expenses.

Michigan Yielding and Right of Way Laws

Michigan’s right-of-way yield law states that any vehicle entering or crossing a highway from an alley, private road, or driveway must come to a complete stop before entering the roadway. They must also yield the right of way to oncoming traffic.

In addition to the yield law, Michigan enacts several additional regulations regarding the right of way in Section 257.649 of the state’s vehicle code. Under this section, drivers must:

• Yield the right of way to a vehicle entering from a different highway at an intersection.
• Yield the right of way to the driver on their left if they enter an intersection at approximately the same time, particularly at a stop sign or stoplight.
• Yield if another vehicle is already in the process of entering traffic.
• Yield if an emergency vehicle is approaching with sirens and/or lights on.
• Yield when turning left under all circumstances.

Drivers operating their vehicle at an unlawful speed forfeit their right-of-way, regardless of whether they would ordinarily be entitled to it.

You may be entitled to compensation if you suffer injuries in an accident where the other driver didn’t adhere to Michigan’s failure to yield laws. Cochran, Kroll, & Associates, P.C. can help you hold the at-fault driver responsible for their negligence and win you a fair settlement.

Gaining Compensation for a Failure to Yield Accident

Michigan is a no-fault state regarding most auto accidents. No-fault means that insurance companies do not determine fault after an accident. Instead, every Michigan resident must have personal protection insurance (PIP) to cover medical costs resulting from a collision.

PIP provides some basic coverage to victims of an accident, including 85% of lost income (for up to three years) and all medical bills. However, PIP does not cover damage to your vehicle, additional lost income, or additional costs associated with disabilities caused by the accident.

To receive additional compensation, you may be able to file a personal injury claim against the driver. When seeking further compensation, you and your legal team must prove that the other driver was at least partially at fault.

Michigan’s modified comparative fault doctrine only allows those less than 51% at fault to recover damages. It’s vital that your attorney proves that the other party failed to yield and that this failure was the sole cause of your injuries.

An experienced accident attorney at Cochran, Kroll, & Associates, P.C., will use a variety of evidence to prove your claim of fault in court, including the accident report, photos or videos, and expert witnesses.

Potential Types of Compensation

There are a few types of claims that you can make after a car accident to recover compensation, including:

Vehicle Damage Mini-Tort:

If your vehicle has been damaged in the accident, you can file a mini tort claim under Michigan law and recover up to $3,000 from the at-fault driver or their insurance company.

First-Party Claim for No-Fault Benefits:

If there is a dispute over the extent of the no-fault benefits you receive, you can file a claim against the other driver’s insurance company to recover unreceived or underpaid benefits. This claim can include economic benefits such as medical costs, repair costs, replacement services, nursing assistance during recovery, and lost wages. You must file this claim within one year of the date of the accident.

Third-Party Non-Economic Loss Damages Claim

If the other driver is at fault, you may also be able to file for pain and suffering compensation and additional economic damages not covered under no-fault benefits. Under Michigan law, drivers must be covered with bodily injury liability insurance of at least $250,000, which covers their liability for pain and suffering compensation and excess economic damages.

However, there is a caveat to this type of claim in Michigan. To be eligible to file a third-party claim against the other driver, your injury must meet the “serious injury threshold.” Under this standard, your injury must impact your normal quality of life by causing serious impairment to a bodily function or serious, permanent disfigurement.

A doctor must evaluate the injury, and its severity must be provable through medical testing. Examples of injuries that meet Michigan’s serious injury threshold include brain injuries, spinal cord injuries, compound fractures, and dismemberment.

Your attorney with Cochran, Kroll, & Associates, P.C. can help you determine if your injury makes you eligible to file a third-party claim. If so, you can file to receive compensation for pain and suffering, excess medical benefits, and excess lost wages.

Proving Negligence in a Failure to Yield Car Accident

To receive compensation, your lawyer must prove that the failure to yield accident was the other driver’s fault. Cochran, Kroll, & Associates, P.C. are experts in proving negligence on the other driver’s part.

Our personal injury lawyers will take the following steps to help you get the maximum compensation you are owed:

Step One: Duty of Care

The first step in proving negligence is showing that the other driver owed you a legal duty of care. All drivers are responsible for operating their vehicles safely and obeying the rules of the road, which meets the criteria for this step.

Step Two: Proving Negligence

The next step is proving that the driver failed to meet their duty of care, meaning they disobeyed Michigan’s road laws or operated their vehicle unsafely. In a failure to yield case, your attorney can look at police reports, accident reconstructions, and photos of the accident to prove the driver failed to yield as necessary.

Step Three: Proving the Cause of Your Injuries

After proving that the other driver failed to meet their duty of care, we must show that their failure to meet their failure to yield caused your injuries. For example, our attorneys can use medical records to show you didn’t have any preexisting conditions. We can also use photos and police reports to show that you did not contribute to the accident.

Step Four: Calculating Your Damages

The next and final step in filing a claim is offering evidence supporting your claimed damages. Your lawyer must demonstrate your damages, such as medical expenses, vehicle repairs, lost wages, and pain and suffering, with medical records, W2 statements, diary entries, or therapist’s notes. Since medical evidence is key in this step, it is important to visit a doctor immediately after the crash.

Work With Cochran, Kroll, & Associates, P.C.

Choosing the right attorney is critical to increasing your likelihood of receiving fair compensation for a failure to yield crash. The right lawyer can help you through the claims process and reduce excess stress by staying ahead of deadlines, finding key expert witnesses, and fighting relentlessly on your behalf.

Cochran, Kroll, & Associates, P.C. have extensive experience handling car accident cases. Our winning track record includes tens of millions in awarded damages to our clients.

Our attorneys have decades of combined experience fighting for victims of car accident injuries. We will leverage this experience and work tirelessly to get you the compensation you deserve.

Our contingency fee basis means we only get paid if we win your case, so there is no financial risk to you to get started. Call our law firm today at 1-866-MICH-LAW and schedule your no-obligation, free case evaluation.