WISCONSIN PERSONAL INJURY INFORMATION RESOURCE

Thank you for visiting Mingo & Yankala’s Personal Injury Information Resource.  We will continually update our Resource Center.  Our goal is to provide answers to common questions we receive from car, truck and other accident victims in Milwaukee and throughout Wisconsin.  If you were injured anywhere in Wisconsin in a car, truck or other accident and have a question we did not answer, we invite you to call or connect with us by using our Contact Form. We would love to talk to you and it won’t cost you anything to call.

Don’t Let a Prior Injury Ruin Your Wisconsin Personal Injury Case

Many of our clients who have been injured in a Wisconsin car, truck or other accident had a previous injury to the same area of the body.  People always want to know if they still have a case.

The answer is YES you still have a case.  In fact, you may have a very strong case as long as you and your lawyer don’t do anything to hurt your case.

We have put together a list of important reminders you should follow if you have been injured in a car, truck or other accident anywhere in Wisconsin but had a pre-existing injury to the same part of your body.  We give you this advice based upon our personal experience representing many injury victims in Milwaukee and throughout Wisconsin who had a pre-existing injury.

Be Completely Honest With Your Lawyer

If you had a prior similar injury, it is important to tell your lawyer about it.  A good lawyer will be able to separate your new injury from your old injury when presenting your case to the insurance company.  If symptoms from your old injury were still present at the time of your recent accident, your lawyer needs to get to know you personally so that your lawyer can explain to the insurance company how the recent accident made your symptoms worse.  This will allow you to obtain the full compensation you are entitled to.

Be Honest With the Insurance Company

Both you and your attorney need to be honest with the insurance company about any pre-existing injuries.  Chances are high that the insurance company is going to find out about your prior injury anyway.  Insurance companies share information about prior claims.  Insurance companies are entitled to review relevant (not all) medical records for a reasonable period of time predating your accident.  Chances are good that your prior injury is going to show up somewhere in your medical records.

If, and probably when, an insurance company finds out that you have tried to hide a pre-existing injury, they will be suspicious of the rest of your claim.  It will make settling your case more difficult and probably take much longer than it should.  If your case cannot be settled, and a lawsuit is started, be honest with the defense attorney when he is taking your deposition.  Your lawyer will be present with you at that time.  There is nothing that an insurance company lawyer likes better than to catch a plaintiff lying about his or her past medical history.

Be Honest at Trial

We are able to settle most cases before they go to trial. However, if your case does go to trial you must be honest about pre-existing injuries when testifying. In fact, your lawyer should bring out any relevant pre-existing injury before the insurance company lawyer does.  That takes away the insurance company’s cross-examination points and gives you great credibility with the jury.

Always Follow Your Doctor’s Advice

Regardless of whether you had a pre-existing injury, you need to follow your doctor’s advice.  If an MRI scan, physical therapy or other treatment was recommended by your doctor, you need to follow that advice.  Juries are much more sympathetic, and tend to award more money, to injury victims who closely follow their doctor’s treatment recommendations.

Make Sure You Hire the Right Lawyer for Your Injury Case

If you were injured in a car, truck or other accident anywhere in Wisconsin and had a pre-existing injury, you will be completely comfortable disclosing the prior injury if you hire the right lawyer.  If you hire an experienced personal injury lawyer you will trust that lawyer to properly explain to the insurance company how the new injury is different from your prior injury and how the recent accident made your injuries worse.  For example, we are representing a young woman now who has a long history of low back pain prior to her car accident.  However, after the car accident her doctors have recommended that she undergo a lumbar fusion.  We have presented the insurance company with prior medical records which show a history of law back pain but we also explained to the insurance company that before her accident there was never a recommendation that she undergo a surgical procedure to her low back.

If you are a car, truck or other accident victim anywhere in Wisconsin we would love to help.  Please feel free to call us at 414-273-7400 or use our Contact Form.  You will find us easy to talk to.  You never pay a fee of any kind to our law firm until we obtain a recovery for you in your personal injury case.

HOW LONG WILL IT TAKE TO SETTLE MY WISCONSIN CAR OR TRUCK ACCIDENT CASE

The good news is that the great majority of Wisconsin car and truck accident cases settle out of Court.  Any lawyer can settle your injury case.  However it takes a skilled and experienced Wisconsin personal injury attorney to obtain the maximum compensation for your case.

Clients often want to know how long it will take their case to settle. Following a car or truck accident, it is important that your lawyer keep in touch with you on a regular basis.  This allows your lawyer to guide you through the process so that you do not make any mistakes that might hurt your case.  Keeping in touch with the client will also allow the lawyer to know when it is time to start trying to negotiate a settlement with the insurance company.  You want to avoid a situation where your file sits idle, collecting dust, because the lawyer does not know his client is done treating or has reached a healing plateau.  Lack of communication from the lawyer is the biggest complaint personal injury clients have about their lawyer.  You will never experience that at Mingo & Yankala.  We mark every file and keep in touch with our clients on a regular basis.

Insurance companies are more difficult than ever to deal with.  Some of the things that well affect how long it takes to settle your case include the following:

Stubborn Insurance Adjuster

How long it takes to settle your Wisconsin car or truck accident case can depend upon which insurance adjuster is assigned to your claim.  Unfortunately, some insurance adjusters act as if no one is really hurt and they are slow to pay claims.

A stubborn insurance adjuster can cause a claim that should settle in a few months to drag on for months or even force the case into suit if they are unwilling to make a reasonable settlement offer.  Don’t let the insurance company wear you out.  Too many lawyers pressure their clients to take whatever settlement offer is made and this can reinforce insurance companies to make low offers.

Soft Tissue Injuries

If your injury from a Wisconsin car or truck accident are limited to strains and sprains, what we generally call soft tissue injuries, your case should settle relatively soon.  Your lawyer needs to know when your soft tissue injuries have resolved and you are done with treatment.  Certified medical records and billing statements then need to be ordered and personally reviewed by your attorney.  If your soft tissue injury case does not get assigned to a stubborn insurance adjuster (discussed above) a soft tissue injury case can be settled in months following your car or truck accident.

Wisconsin Car or Truck Accident Case With No Permanent Injury

One of the important decisions your lawyer will have to make is whether your injury from a car or truck accident is considered permanent.  Below we discuss what is legally required for an injury to be considered permanent.

If you and your lawyer, in consultation with your doctor, conclude that your injury is not considered permanent under the law your case should be able to be settled in a few months after you end your treatment.  No formal medical report is usually required if there is no claim for permanent injury.  Instead, your Wisconsin car or truck accident case is evaluated based upon your medical records from the accident and medical bills, length of time you treated, nature of injury you suffered and whether you are considered partially at fault for the accident.

Wisconsin Car or Truck Accident Case With Permanent Injury

If your injury from a Wisconsin car or truck accident is considered permanent, your case may take longer to settle.  However, a case with permanent injuries is generally worth more than a case where no permanent injury is claimed.

In order for an injury to be considered permanent, one or more of your doctors will have to express an opinion, to a reasonable degree of probability, that your injury is permanent in nature.  Your lawyer will request a written report from your doctor(s) asking whether the car accident was a cause of a permanent injury.  Most cases settle.  However, if your case does not settle one or more of your doctors will need to testify that, to a reasonable degree of medical probability, you suffered one or more permanent injuries as a result of the car accident.

A properly documented and supported claim for permanent injury will allow you to recover damages not only from the date of the accident through the present time but also damages from the present time through the remainder of your life expectancy.  Life expectancy tables are used to establish your projected life expectancy based upon your age, gender and other factors.

It takes time to properly document a claim for permanent injury.  As a general rule doctors like to wait a year from the date of the accident before commenting upon whether or not the injury is considered permanent.  Your lawyer needs to keep in touch with you on a regular basis so that your lawyer knows when the proper time is to request a permanency report from your doctor.  Questions presented to your doctor need to be carefully drafted by your personal injury attorney.  Often doctors need to be instructed on the proper legal standard they are to use when commenting upon your case. The opinion of your doctor does not need to be expressed with absolute certainty.  On the other hands your doctor’s opinion cannot be expressed in terms of possibilities.  Rather, any expert opinion rendered by your doctor must be held to a reasonable degree of medical probability

Your Personal Injury Lawyer Must Keep in Touch With You on a Regular Basis

To move your case forward to a successful conclusion in a timely manner, and obtain the maximum compensation you are entitled to, it is absolutely necessary for your lawyer to contact you on a regular basis to discuss your injuries.  Otherwise, your case may be ready to settle but nothing happens because your lawyer has not kept in touch with you.  Regular communication with the client also allows your lawyer to know when the proper time is to request a report from your treating doctor and substantiate any claim you have for past and future pain and suffering.

Every Wisconsin personal injury client at Mingo & Yankala is contacted on a regular basis during the entire time we are handling his or her case.  We know exactly what our clients medical status is at any given time.  We know when and how to request proper medical reports and obtain documentation to support a valid claim for not only past injuries and damages but future injuries and damages from your car or truck accident as well.  Each of our clients know they can contact us at any time with questions they have about their case and we make sure our clients are comfortable in doing that.

If this is the type of law firm you would like to have represent you for injuries from a Wisconsin car or truck accident, or personal injury case of any kind, we invite you to contact us.  You can use our convenient Contact Form on our website or you can contact us at 414-273-7400.  We are always friendly, easy to talk to and we would love to hear from you.

DON’T LET SOCIAL MEDIA RUIN YOUR PERSONAL INJURY CASE

People use social media every date without thinking twice about it.  Everything from a mundane daily activity to a grand vacation ends up on social media, usually with no negative consequences.  However use of social media can ruin your personal injury case.

One of the things your personal injury lawyer should discuss with you at the time of your initial consultation is the danger of using social media following your Wisconsin car or truck accident.  You have no right to privacy with regard to your social media accounts.  Use of privacy settings can help but is not a guarantee that an insurance company will not eventually gain access to at least some of your social media accounts after a lawsuit is filed.

An obvious example of social media hurting your personal injury case is where you claim to live a sedentary lifestyle because of injuries you received from an accident and your social media accounts show photographs of you running, jumping or lifting heavy objects.  Our clients are honest people and this is not the type of example we generally see.

However what can happen is a seemingly innocent social media post or photograph gets taken out of context by the insurance company or the insurance company’s lawyer.  An insurance company is always looking to discredit an injury victim in an attempt to reduce what it eventually pays that victim to settle his or her case.  For example, a social media post or photograph about taking a short walk to get some fresh air while recuperating can be taken out of context by the defense attorney to imply that you are active and not badly injured.  A social media post where you state you are sorry the accident happened can be misinterpreted as an admission of fault.

So what should you do with social media if you have a personal injury claim pending or a personal injury lawsuit that has actually been filed?  Here is some advice we give our personal injury clients:

• The best practice of all is to avoid using social media altogether while your case is pending. This will prevent the possibility of even an innocent post being taken out of context and used against you.  However, we understand that giving up social media completely until your case settles is not realistic for many of our clients.  We work with those clients and give them the additional advice below.
• If you cannot give up social media completely, at least avoid any post or photographs about how the accident happened and what injuries you received.
• Do not post any social media content about physical activities you engage in while your claim or case is pending. Remember, innocent social media content can be taken out of context in an effort to reduce how much you get paid for your injuries.
• Use privacy settings on all your social media accounts until your case is settled. This is not a complete guarantee of privacy but it will help.
• Do not go back and attempt to delete social media content that you think may hurt your case. This can be interpreted as you trying to hide something or being dishonest.  Also, depending upon the context, this can be considered destroying evidence which is something you never want to be a part of.
• If you have posted social media content following your car or truck accident, immediately bring that to the attention of your attorney. Your attorney can work with you and offer a valid explanation for the content so that it is no taken out of context at a later date.

A Good Personal Injury Attorney Should Guide You Every Step of the Way

Guiding youon how social media can hurt your personal injury case is only one example of how your personal injury attorney should guide you while your personal injury claim is pending.  Your personal injury attorney should be with you every step of the way guiding you through the process and offering valuable advice so that you end up receiving the maximum compensation allowable by law.

If this is the kind of attorney you would like to have represent you following your Wisconsin car, truck or other accident, we invite you to use our confidential Contact Form or give us a call at 414-273-7400.  You will find us easy to talk to and we would love to represent you in your personal injury claim.  A team approach is the best way to make sure you are fully compensated for your injuries.

ARE YOU AN EGGSHELL PLAINTIFF AND HOW DOES THAT AFFECT YOUR WISCONSIN CAR OR TRUCK ACCIDENT CASE

In law school we all learned about what is called the Eggshell Plaintiff Rule.  In everyday legal practice many lawyers tend to forget about the Rule.  However if you are an eggshell plaintiff the Rule allows you to obtain the full monetary compensation to which you are entitled.

The Eggshell Plaintiff Rule provides that a negligent defendant takes the plaintiff as you find him/her. If you have a plaintiff who is unusually susceptible to injury, that is not a defense because under the Eggshell Plaintiff Rule a defendant takes the plaintiff as he finds them.  This could involve an older person whose bones are more susceptible to fracture and suffers broken bones in an accident that ordinarily would not cause any fractures.  The injured plaintiff is entitled to recover the full amount of his/her damages and the fact that he/she was more susceptible to injury is not a defense the insurance company can raise.

For example, we are working on a car accident case right now where our client had back surgery only two weeks before he was involved in a car accident.  Because of his recent prior back surgery our client was more susceptible to serious injury after being rear-ended at a speed that might not have injured the average person. Under the Eggshell Plaintiff Rule our client is able to be compensated for the full extent of his injuries from the car accident even though many individuals would not have been hurt at all.

The Eggshell Plaintiff Rule is not limited to physical injuries.  The Rule applies to emotional or psychological damages as well.  If a plaintiff is in a fragile state of mind before being involved in a car or truck accident, and the car or truck accident creates a severe emotional response in the plaintiff, the plaintiff is entitled to recover for the full extent of his/her injuries caused by the accident as long as the eggshell plaintiff can meet his or her burden of proof.

Hire The Right Milwaukee Personal Injury Attorney to Handle  Your Car or Truck Accident Injury Case Anywhere in Wisconsin

The Eggshell Plaintiff Rule is one of many legal tools available to an attorney when representing a car or truck injury victim in Wisconsin.

If you believe you are an eggshell plaintiff, and you sustained injuries in a Wisconsin car or truck accident case, we invite you to give us a call.  We would love to discuss your case with you.  You can use our confidential Contact Form to reach or you can give us a call at 414-273-7400.  You will find us easy to talk to and it would be our honor to represent you anywhere in Wisconsin.

WHAT IS THE BURDEN OF PROOF IN MY WISCONSIN CAR OR TRUCK ACCIDENT CASE

The burden of proof refers to the level of evidentiary persuasion required to win your case.  Different cases require a higher or lower burden of proof to win.

Proof beyond a reasonable doubt is the highest burden of proof.  This is the burden of proof required in criminal trials where an individual’s liberty is at stake.  There is what is often referred to as a middle burden of proof in some civil cases.  The middle burden of proof requires the case to be proved by clear and convincing evidence.  This burden of proof is lower than the reasonable doubt standard found in criminal cases and higher than the ordinary burden of proof.  The middle burden of proof is referred to as proof by clear and convincing evidence.  An example of a civil case where the middle burden of proof applies is where one party seeks to reform a contract to reflect the true intentions of the parties.

In a Wisconsin car or truck accident case, the burden of proof required is the ordinary burden of proof.  In Wisconsin, a jury in a car or truck accident case is instructed that the burden of proof rests upon the plaintiff to convince the jury “by the greater weight of the credible evidence, to a reasonable certainty, that the plaintiff sustained damages and the amount of the damages.

The lawyer representing the insurance company at trial will often point out to the jury that it is the plaintiff who has the burden of proof with regard to damages being claimed.  The insurance company will argue to the jury that the plaintiff has not met his/her burden of proof and therefore damages should be low or in some cases nothing at all.

It is important for your attorney to take the lead on the issue of burden of proof.  Your burden of proof in a Wisconsin car or truck accident case will be the ordinary burden of proof.  Your attorney must explain to the jury that the middle burden of proof only requires that 51 percent of the weight of the evidence rests in favor of the plaintiff.  Another way of explaining this is to use the symbol of the scales of justice which we are all familiar with and which is pictured at the top of this article.  Your attorney should inform the jury that if the scales tip even slightly in favor of the plaintiff, the plaintiff has then met his/her burden of proof.  Too many lawyers representing plaintiffs never even mention burden of proof to the jury.  This is a big mistake. Your lawyer should take the lead in persuading the jury on the issue of burden of proof and not allow insurance companies to dominate the conversation on this issue.

Make Sure Your Hire a Lawyer Who Knows How to Present Your Wisconsin Car or Truck Accident Case in a Winning Way

If you do not hire the right lawyer chances are you are not going to receive the full amount of compensation you deserve.  Insurance company lawyers know how to persuade a jury.  Make sure the attorney you hire stays one step ahead in presenting your case to the insurance company for settlement or to a jury for a favorable verdict.  Remember, you only have one opportunity to obtain the settlement or verdict you deserve.  There are no second chances in civil litigation.

If you like what you have read here, we invite you to contact us.  You can reach us by using our confidential Contact Form or you can give us a call at 414-273-7400.  You will find us friendly and easy to talk to and we would love to hear from you.  It would be our honor to represent you in your car, truck or other accident case anywhere in Wisconsin.

IN WISCONSIN CAN I BRING A CLAIM FOR NEGLIGENT INFLICTION OF EMOTIONAL DISTRESS

The quick answer is YES.

Traditionally Courts across the country, including Wisconsin, had an inherent distrust of claims for emotional distress because of the difficulty confirming the validity of such claims.  The early mindset of the Court was that it would be too easy to assert that you suffered emotional distress and very difficult for the defendant to substantiate the validity of such a claim. In Wisconsin, the distrust of emotional distress claims began to change with the Bowen case in 1994 and negligent infliction of emotional distress was recognized as an independent claim in the Camp case decided in 2006.

There are three elements that a plaintiff must prove to prevail and be compensated for a claim of negligent inflection of emotional distress.  The three elements are:

1. The plaintiff must prove that the defendant was negligent in causing the accident or incident complained of;
2. The accident, or incident complained of, must be a cause (a substantial factor) of the plaintiff’s emotional distress;
3. The emotional distress must be severe.

Emotional distress is a broad term and can include fear, anger, emotional upset, worry, emotionally grounded eating disorders and any emotional reaction.

However, the emotional reaction or emotional distress must be severe in order to prevail on a claim for negligent infliction of emotional distress.  This is because the Court’s recognize that some form of emotional distress is a part of everyone’s life.  Life is filled with unpleasantries that do not arise to the level of compensable harm.  To be compensable the emotional distress must rise to the level that no reasonable person would expect to experience it but for the defendant’s negligence.

If you can meet the three elements of a claim for negligent infliction of emotional distress listed above, the jury is then instructed that it should award reasonable compensation for the emotional distress.

A claim for negligent infliction of emotional distress often accompanies a claim for physical injuries arising out of the same incident.  However, the Courts in Wisconsin have recognized that a stand-alone claim for negligent inflection of emotional distress may exist.  An example of a stand-alone claim is a case where one sibling saw her brother about 15 feet away get run over by a police car that was searching the area to round up a group of teenagers.  The sibling was close enough to witness her brother bleeding as a result of the severe injuries from being run over by a police car.  The Wisconsin Supreme Court allowed the sibling’s claim to go forward even though she sustained no physical injury of her own.

Milwaukee and Wisconsin Personal Injury Lawyer

If you have been injured in a car, truck or other accident and you are looking for a law firm that will take the time to get to know you and your case, we invite you to give us a call.  We make sure to take the time to get to know each injury victim personally and we understand that each injury victim is different and everyone’s story is unique.

If this is the type of law firm you would like representing you in your car, truck or other personal injury case, we invite you to contact us by using our confidential Contact Form or by giving us a call at 414-273-7400.  You will be surprised how easy we are to talk to and we would love hearing from you.                                               

HOW A JURY DETERMINES NEGLIGENCEINA WISCONSIN CAR OR TRUCK ACCIDENT CASE

One of the issues a jury must decide in a Wisconsin car or truck injury case is whether the drivers were negligent and, if so, what percentage of negligence should be assigned to each driver.

Since negligence is an important issue in every Wisconsin car or truck accident case, the obvious question to be answered is what do we mean by negligence.  In Wisconsin a person is considered negligent if he/she does not exercise what is referred to as ordinary care.  Ordinary care is defined as the type of care that a reasonable person would use under the same or similar circumstances.  If this sounds like circular reasoning, you are correct.  However, this is exactly how a jury is instructed before they decide your Wisconsin car or truck accident case.

A jury is also informed that a driver is not using ordinary care, and is therefore negligent, if the driver does or does not do something that a reasonable person would recognize as creating an unreasonable risk of injury.  A driver who is negligent does not intend to harm anyone but rather causes injury to another because he/she did not exercise reasonable care.  Someone who is negligent did not intend to cause injury but rather his/her actions were such that it was foreseeable that some injury would occur.

For example, someone driving 50 m.p.h. in a 30 m.p.h. zone may not intend to hurt anyone.  However, it is reasonably foreseeable that speeding will cause injury to someone and therefore that driver is considered negligent.

For a driver to be found negligent in a Wisconsin car or truck accident case it is not necessary that the driver create an unreasonable risk of harm to any particular person.  In Wisconsin, unlike some other jurisdictions, everyone is deemed to owe a duty of reasonable care to the world at large.  In our example of the speeding driver, that driver can still be found negligent even if he/she did not foresee that a particular person would be injured by his or her conduct.  As our Courts have stated, every driver has a duty to exercise reasonable care and avoid any act or omission that is foreseeable to cause some harm to some other person.  The driver does not need to know the specific harm caused or the specific individual harmed in order to be found negligent.

As mentioned above, in almost every car or truck accident case a jury must decide what percentage of negligence to attribute to each driver.  In a two-car accident case, the plaintiff can recover as long as the jury does not assign 51 percent or more of the negligence to the plaintiff.  If a jury does assign 51 percent or more of the negligence to the plaintiff, the plaintiff cannot collect anything against the other driver or his or her insurance company.  In our example, if both drivers are found 50 percent at fault the plaintiff then recovers 50 of his/her damages.  So if a jury awards $100,000 for the plaintiff’s injuries, and assigns 50 percent of the causal negligence to both drivers, the plaintiff collects $50,000.

As long as less than 51 percent of the causal negligence is attributed to the plaintiff, the plaintiff recovers the amount of his damages less the percentage of his/her negligence in a two-car accident case.  Therefore if a jury assigns 80 percent of the causal negligence to the defendant driver and 20 percent of the causal negligence to the plaintiff driver, the plaintiff recovers 80 percent of his/her damages.  That makes the negligence split very important to the plaintiff because each percentage of negligence assigned to him/her reduces the amount the plaintiff can recover.  If the case does not go to trial, and is settled by way of negotiations with the defendant’s insurance company, the plaintiff’s lawyer and the insurance company will have to come to agreement not only on the amount of damages to which the plaintiff is entitled but also reach agreement on the percentage of negligence to be assigned to each driver.  You need to make sure you hire the right lawyer who fully understands the intricacies of the law and who can persuasively negotiate with the insurance company.  If you do not hire the right lawyer, chances are you will not receive the full amount of compensation you are entitled to.

Your lawyer will be required to negotiate with the insurance company both the amount of damages and the percentage of negligence to be assigned to each driver.  One big misconception in Wisconsin, which we hear all the time, is that a driver is negligent just for being there.  This is not the law and in fact is a misstatement of the law.  However, it is inevitable that some jurors hearing your Wisconsin car or truck accident injury case will believe you are negligent just for being where you were when the accident happened.  It is up to your lawyer to emphasize to the jury, based upon the jury instructions the Court agrees to use, exactly what the law is.  Your lawyer will have to remind the jury that you are not negligent just for being there when the accident happened.

Hire The Right Wisconsin Car or Truck Accident Attorney For Your Personal Injury Case

After reading what we outlined above you can see why it is so important that you hire the right Wisconsin car or truck accident lawyer to handle your case.  Your attorney must know all aspects of the law as it relates to your case and must be persuasive in arguing your case to the insurance company or to a jury if your case does not settle with the insurance company.  We have been able to settle the great majority of our Wisconsin car and truck accident cases without our clients ever having to go to Court.

When necessary we have the skill and experience to go to Court.  We have successfully tried over 100 Wisconsin car/truck accident cases of every kind.  Very few law firms can make that statement.

If this is the type of law firm you would like to represent you in your Wisconsin car or truck accident case, we invite you to contact us using our confidential Contact Form or by giving us a call.  We think you will be happy you did.  You will find us friendly and always easy to talk to.  We would consider it an honor to represent you in your car or truck accident case anywhere in Wisconsin.

WERE YOU INVOLVED IN A MILWAUKEE CAR OR TRUCK ACCIDENT AT AN UNCONTROLLED INTERSECTION?  WHO HAS THE RIGHT OF WAY?

Many intersections are controlled by stop lights, stop signs and even yield signs.  These are referred to as controlled intersections.  It is usually easy to determine who has the right-of-way at a controlled intersection.  We all know that if you have a red light or a stop sign controlling your direction of travel as you approach an intersection, you have a duty to stop and yield the right-of-way to a driver entering the intersection from your left or right.

An uncontrolled intersection is an intersection where no driver has a traffic light, stop sign, yield sign for other traffic control device governing his/her direction of travel.  It is easy to see why so many Wisconsin car and truck accident occur at uncontrolled intersections.  In addition to drivers simply not paying attention, one of the main reasons so many car and truck accidents occur at uncontrolled intersections is because Wisconsin drivers do not properly understand who has the right-of-way when both drivers approach and begin to enter an intersection at approximately the same time.

Right-of-way upon entering an uncontrolled intersection is governed by Wisconsin statute Sec. 346.18(1).  Wisconsin law states that when two vehicles approach or enter an intersection at approximately the same time, the driver of the vehicle on the left must yield the right-of-way to the vehicle on the right.  Importantly, the vehicle on the right does not have to reach the intersection first in order to have the right-of-way.  As long as both vehicles are approaching or entering the intersection at approximately the same time, the vehicle on the right has the right-of-way regardless of whether it reaches or enters the intersection first.

The question which naturally arises is what is mean by “approach or enter an intersection at approximately the same time.”  In this regard Wisconsin law provides that approaching or entering an intersection at approximately the same time means that two vehicles approach the intersection so close in time that there is “imminent danger” of a collision if both vehicles continue on their same course.  If two vehicles approach the intersection so that there is danger of a collision if both vehicles continue on their same course, the law requires that the driver of the automobile on the left yield the right-of-way to the automobile on the right.  This requires the driver on the left to either stop, slow down or otherwise manage his/her vehicle so as to avoid a collision.

Forfeiting the Right-Of-Way

There is one important exception to the general rule that the operator of the vehicle on the right has the right-of-way where both vehicles approach or enter the intersection at approximately the same time.  If the driver of the vehicle on the right is speeding, meaning driving in excess of the speed limit, the driver on the right then loses any right-of-way he/she would otherwise have.

Hire the Right Milwaukee Car or Truck Accident Attorney

If you have been involved in a car or truck accident in Milwaukee or anywhere in Wisconsin, make sure you hire the right attorney.  You only have one opportunity to settle your case and receive the full compensation you are entitled to.  Just knowing the law is not good enough.  Your lawyer must take the time to get to know you and take the time to fully understand how the car or truck accident has impacted your life and your activities of daily living.  Once you settle your case and sign a Release, you cannot reopen your case even if your lawyer did not obtain the full amount of compensation you are entitled to.

If you want a law firm that knows the law and takes the time to really get to know you and your car or truck accident case, we invite you to contact us.  You can reach us by using our confidential Contact Form or you can give us a call at 414-273-7400.  You will always find us friendly and easy to talk to and we would love to discuss your case with you and answer any questions you have.  If you hire us, it will be our privilege to represent you in obtaining the full compensation you are entitled to in your Milwaukee car or truck accident case.