News 4 San Antonio, an NBC affiliate, recently reported that a vehicle collision on the evening of January 10th resulted in serious injuries. San Antonio city police reported that three people were transported to regional hospitals following the accident. According to police, one of the vehicles was attempting to make a left hand turn and it was hit by a car coming straight forward. The collision was described as ‘high impact’ but fortunately, News 4 noted that none of the injuries appeared to be life threatening. Left hand turns result in a disproportionate percentage of Texas car accidents. If you have been injured in an accident involving a left turn in San Antonio, contact an experienced car crash lawyer today to learn more about your legal options.
Texas Driving Regulations and Left Turn Negligence
It is important to remember that all drivers are legally obligated to follow all state driving regulations when on the road. The Texas legal code sets out rules for how to legally make a left hand turn at any Texas intersection. The state says:
- A left turning driver must approach the intersection in the correct lane, that being the lane furthest to the left;
- The left turning driver must wait until the road is clear and it is safe to make a turn;
- and, the left turning driver must then turn into the correct lane on the perpendicular roadway.
This sounds fairly simple, but as always, reality can be more complicated. One very notable feature of a left turn, when it comes to Texas car accident lawsuits, is that a left turn is known as a specific indicator. Essentially, this means that the driver making the left turn is generally assumed to be at fault for any accident with an oncoming vehicle. This is because the oncoming vehicle presumably had the right of way under Texas law. So, the driver making the left turn will likely be deemed to be at fault for a collision, unless they can prove that the oncoming vehicle was negligent. A simple example of oncoming vehicle negligence would be an oncoming car running a red light. If the other driver ran a red light, the driver making the left turn is absolutely not at fault for the left turn collision. These cases can always get complex, and an experienced San Antonio car accident attorney can help protect you from unfair liability and can make sure that the responsible party pays for their fair share of your damages.
Contact An Experienced San Antonio Car Accident Lawyer
Anyone who drives regularly makes left turns all the time. It does not sound risky, and the vast majority of the time it is not. But, one car turning left, which requires that the car crosses the lane of oncoming traffic, has the inherent conditions for a potentially dangerous collision. You deserve full and fair compensation if you been injured by another’s negligence in a left turn car wreck. But, sometimes proving fault in Texas left turn accident cases proves to be more complicated than you would expect. The experienced legal team at the Law Offices of Ronald A. Ramos can help. Contact our office today to schedule a free legal consultation.
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