St. Louis Left Turn Accident Lawyer

Drivers have a legal obligation to follow traffic laws and remain alert and diligent behind the wheel. This legal duty of care exists not only to avoid traffic citations but to minimize the risk of car accidents. In Missouri, a driver who causes a car accident is legally responsible for any damages they cause to others.

Making a left turn is one of the most common causes of accidents in St. Louis and elsewhere. It’s important to understand how accidents can happen when a driver making a left turn fails to take proper care and who can be liable for the resulting St. Louis car accident claim. 

What Is a Left-Turn Accident?

Making a left turn at an intersection or when exiting a parking lot or driveway may sound like a harmless, everyday occurrence, but it’s actually one of the most dangerous driving maneuvers. In countries like the U.S., where drivers use the right side of the road, the vehicle must cross at least one lane of moving traffic to make a left turn.

Making a left turn safely requires careful timing to ensure there is a large enough gap between approaching vehicles from both the left and right. Often, a driver making a left turn focuses on traffic approaching from the right during the turn, causing an angle collision with a vehicle approaching from the left.

Left-turn accidents are also the most common cause of motorcycle, bicycle, and pedestrian injuries and fatalities.

What Types of Injuries Happen In Left-Turn Accidents In St. Louis?

In left-turn accidents, the driver and a backseat passenger seated behind the driver face the highest risk of severe injury, since a vehicle approaching from the left impacts the driver’s side of the vehicle. Injuries in angle collisions are often severe or catastrophic because the side of a vehicle is its thinnest point. Common types of injuries reported in St. Louis left turn accidents include the following:

• Fractures of the limbs, hips, and pelvis
• Soft-tissue injuries to knees, shoulders, wrists, and ankles
• Lacerations, contusions, and abrasions
• Traumatic brain injuries (TBIs)
• Neck injuries
• Back injuries
• Facial and dental trauma
• Internal bleeding and internal organ injuries
• Spinal cord injuries
• Traumatic amputations
• Burns

In the worst left-turn accidents, one or more motorists may suffer fatal injuries. If you lost a loved one in a left-turn accident, a St. Louis wrongful death lawyer from Miller & Hine can help your family recover compensation and a sense of justice for your grievous loss by filing a claim against the at-fault party.

Who Is Liable In a St. Louis Left-Turn Accident Claim?

Missouri has a fault-based car accident law under RSMo Section 537.765, the state’s pure comparative negligence rule. Under this system, the injured party becomes the plaintiff when they seek compensation from one or more liable parties. All parties in Missouri who cause or contribute to an accident are liable for their percentage of fault. In some cases, a negligent or reckless driver may be 100% at fault, or several entities could share liability. Common liable parties in St. Louis left-turn accident cases include the following:

• A negligent driver for failing to yield the right of way
• An impaired driver
• A road-planning agency that designed a dangerous intersection with obstructed views
• A negligent road maintenance agency for failing to repair a signal light
• The manufacturer of a vehicle with a dangerous design, such as a car with a wide A-pillar frame between the windshield and driver’s side window, which is a common cause of obstructed views

Depending on the circumstances of the accident, the insurance company could assign an injury victim an undue percentage of fault for a left-turn accident. This allows them to reduce the compensation by the victim’s assigned percentage of fault. For example, if the insurance company of a driver who hit a vehicle with the right of way in a left-turn accident claims that the driver with the right of way was exceeding the speed limit, they could assign them a percentage of fault.

In a $100,000 claim, assigning the injury victim 25% fault for the accident allows the insurance company to reduce the claim by $25,000 and pay the injury victim $75,000. An experienced St. Louis injury attorney defends their client against this strategy and other tactics used by insurers to protect the company’s profits at the injury victim’s expense.

What Compensation Is Available to the Injury Victim of a Left-Turn Accident In St. Louis?

Expenses add up quickly after an accident causes serious injuries. A successful car accident claim after a left-turn collision recovers damages such as:

• Past and future medical expenses and out-of-pocket costs related to the injury
• Past and future income loss or reduced future earning ability due to disability
• Compensation for pain and suffering
• Catastrophic injury compensation for permanent injuries, such as loss of limb, disfigurement, loss of an organ, vision damage, hearing loss, or diminished quality of life

Wrongful death compensation may be available to a close surviving family member after a fatal left-turn accident in St. Louis under the state’s wrongful death law.

How Common Are Left Turn Accidents?

According to the National Safety Council (NSC), 79% of car accident injuries in the U.S. arise from collisions between two vehicles, accounting for 43% of fatal injuries. In a single recent year, there were 3,040,000 angle collisions in the U.S., accounting for over 37% of injuries in traffic accidents. Angle collisions most often occur in intersections due to failure to yield the right of way. Left turn accidents are the most common cause of intersection collisions.

Recent crash data in Missouri reported 26,257 total car accidents caused by a driver’s failure to yield the right of way, with 8,454 injuries and 154 fatalities.

Poorly planned intersections, such as those with obstructed views, contribute to the high number of left-turn accidents in St. Louis.

How Can a St. Louis Left Turn Accident Lawyer Help Me?

At Miller & Hine Car Accident Attorneys at Law, we understand the way serious car accident injuries impact the victim and their family throughout all aspects of their life. Contact our law office today to speak with a left-turn accident lawyer in St. Louis who will personalize a strategy to recover the maximum compensation available to you.