Tractor-Trailer Failure to Yield Accidents

The weight and size of a tractor-trailer—sometimes 80,000 pounds—may result in catastrophic injuries or even death if the tractor-trailer fails to yield to a smaller passenger car or motorcycle. Unfortunately, there are many situations in which a truck driver may not abide by the rules of the road. A driver who is drunk, fatigued, distracted, under pressure to make a delivery, or inadequately trained to check blind spots may not yield even when there are signs indicating that this is appropriate. If you were hurt in a failure to yield accident in East Tennessee, it is important to consult an attorney who is experienced in truck wreck cases. Knoxville tractor-trailer accident attorney Mark Hartsoe has the experience and skill to provide aggressive representation to crash victims in these lawsuits. Hartsoe has a 24-hour accident reconstruction team on call that he can send out to the scene of a crash.

Tractor-trailer drivers who fail to follow the rules of the road, such as by running red lights or failing to yield when a smaller vehicle has the right of way, may be held accountable for the harm that they cause. If a tractor-trailer driver fails to follow a safety statute, ordinance, or regulation in failing to yield, it may be possible to hold the driver responsible under a theory of negligence per se. This may apply when a driver violates a safety statute, regulation, or ordinance, and the statute, regulation, or ordinance was designed to prevent the type of accident that happened. The defendant’s violation must also have been a direct cause of the crash.

In a case in which negligence per se is applied, the focus of the case may be the extent of the damages rather than liability. In other words, the defendant may dispute that you were as badly injured as you say, rather than disputing that they owe you compensation. Moreover, if a driver is found to have been negligent per se while on the job, their employer will likely be held vicariously liable for the driver’s failure to yield.

Sometimes a tractor-trailer driver's failure to yield is a result of negligent training, supervision, or hiring by a trucking company. All trucking companies are required to use reasonable care and follow detailed regulations when hiring employees to operate heavy commercial vehicles. A company's failure to conduct background checks, for example, may result in the company hiring someone who has had multiple failure to yield or aggressive driving accidents in a short window of time. Multiple accidents should be a red flag to a potential employer. If a trucking company fails to use reasonable care in hiring, training, or supervising its drivers, and this leads to an accident, the trucking company may be held directly liable for the victim’s damages.

Knoxville tractor-trailer accident lawyer Mark Hartsoe has the experience to represent you in a failure to yield case and can develop a strategy to seek all of the compensation that you need. You can call the Hartsoe Law Firm at 865-804-1011 or contact us via our online form to set up a free appointment. Motor vehicle collision attorney Mark Hartsoe represents injured people throughout East Tennessee, including in Knox, Blount, Monroe, Loudon, Jefferson, Grainger, Cocke, Campbell, Hamblen, Greene, Anderson, Cumberland, and Fentress Counties.