left turn accident

[leebin]

What is the name of your state? New York

Hi my friend was recently involved in an accident. I was the passenger in the car.
my friend was at the intersection and it was clear. Note that this left turn is a wide left turn sort of diagonal from the road we were on. It was clear and well lit. it was a green light. There were no cars in sight the only car in sight was a car on the opposite lane. As we were in the intersection we made the turn. The car other car which was at that other light hit us(Note I am the passenger and I SAW THE car was at the light further down at least 1 block down). The Town speed limit is 30MPH. The car I was in the front wheel to the side door was damaged,. We were in a 2 door car and the other driver was in a SUV. His whole entire car front was totaled, but his right front was totally crushed in. The Police officer said from what it looks like the other driver was driving really fast(i estimate since we were barely going at 25mph he must have been going a lot faster than us) and that the way the other driver hit us we were already under the light making the turn. Who is at fault here? I've read somewhere that even if you are making a left turn and if the other driving was driving exceedingly at a high speed then the one making a left turn is not totally at fault. i've also read that if you're already making a complete left turn then also you are not totally at fault.


some other facts...
his rear left wheel had a donut.
the other driver was not hurt as he was taking parts of his car and throwing it at my friend's car and his own.
He was also released from the hospital way after both my friend and i were released as he only needed ice for his hand. nothing broken.
the police officers had to restrain him after kicking the cars etc.
the streaks marks on the road went from near under the light to past the crosswalk. it must have pushed the car back at least 2 cars lengths



description of the road
Light ( other car)
|
|
\ |
\(this left turn is sort of diagonal)
|light(our car)
|

 

[You Are Guilty]

My guess is your friend will be found 100% at fault for making an unsafe turn. The rest of the "facts" are irrelevant.

 

[racer72]

I've read somewhere that even if you are making a left turn and if the other driving was driving exceedingly at a high speed then the one making a left turn is not totally at fault. i've also read that if you're already making a complete left turn then also you are not totally at fault.

Please provide documentation. Lots of people claim to have read things they never did.

his rear left wheel had a donut.

Did it have some coffee to drink too?

the other driver was not hurt as he was taking parts of his car and throwing it at my friend's car and his own.

Appears he has some anger issues.

He was also released from the hospital way after both my friend and i were released as he only needed ice for his hand. nothing broken.

That's good.

the police officers had to restrain him after kicking the cars etc.

Theres that anger issue again.

the streaks marks on the road went from near under the light to past the crosswalk. it must have pushed the car back at least 2 cars lengths

This would not have happened if your friend was driving with a bit more caution or was not distracted.

 

[leebin]

Left Turn Auto Accidents
The driver who is making a left turn across oncoming traffic is almost always at fault. This is because the driver making the left turn is supposed to give the right of way to oncoming traffic and make sure there is enough room to complete the turn before making it. Just as with rear-end collisions, the damage from the accident may tell who was at fault.
Exceptions to Left Turn Auto Accidents
There are very few exceptions to the driver making the left turn being at fault. The few exceptions there are can be very difficult to prove. The exceptions are the following:
• The driver who was going straight was going well over the speed limit
• The driver who was going straight ran through a red light
• The driver making the left turn began the turn when it was safe but was unexpectedly forced to stop or slow down ¿ this can be very difficult to prove because a driver is not supposed to make a left turn unless it is safe to do so
http://www.legalmatch.com/law-library/article/liability-for-rear-end-and-left-turn-auto-accidents.html


Also would it matter if he hit more of the middle of the car?

Well what I was saying about the rear left tire when I got out of the car he was shouting that he just had a flat tire that just got fixed down the road.

 

[ecmst12]

In SOME states, excessive speed by the driver going straight can mitigate the responsibility for the accident for the turning driver. Your insurance adjuster may be able to get 10 or 20% of fault assigned to the other person. Your friend was still mostly at fault.

 

[leebin]

Does the place of impact matter?
Because the other driver hit the car i was in on the passenger side and not the front of the car.The front of the car i was in was pretty much undamaged except the wheel axel.

Do I have any claims against the driver who hit us because he hit the passenger side?

Also his speed was obviously above the speed limit possibly 55-65mph in a 30 mph zone. hypothetically speaking if the Police officers wrote that his speed was above the limit around 60mph would my friend get blamed totally? and would I have any claims against the other driver?

note this was a Completed left turn.

 

[ecmst12]

Your claim is against your friend since he was the majority at fault party. Are you injured?

Re-read my post again. The other driver MAY BE held a SMALL AMOUNT at fault because of his speed, but your friend is still MOSTLY at fault.

 

[leebin]

I am a bit injured with my shoulder. However going against my friend would be against real justice. I heard the guy's engine rev up from outside a little before we were hit.
And there was a red light after the hit, so he must have sped on on a yellow light. He was trying to make the light, my friend was making the turn on a green and took time doing so.
I saw him right before he hit and he was definitely moving fast and on his cell phone.
No matter what I see nothing will change I see.

 

[ecmst12]

Your friend failed to yield. He should not have begun his turn if he saw the other car coming. He misjudged the speed of the other car. You can sue your friend AND the other driver if you like, but your friend is the one who is mostly at fault.

 

[leebin]

As far as I'm concerned the other car was speeding and ran a red light.
as I said my friend's car was at the intersection when it was green and was blocking the car to our left. The light was turning yellow when we finally made the turn and it was completed, while we were going to go straight it was red then got hit. The car to our LEFT saw us making the turn. unfortunately that car left the scene. All we had to do is go straight. The car that hit us was at least a good couple hundred yards, when it was a yellow light. If that car stopped for the red light it would have been fine. Of course we cannot prove it was a red light I did not bother to mention it because that point is moot.
Just play it in your own mind from my point of view because i saw EVERYTHING including the f'ing headlights and hear the engine rev of the other car. but before all that you are at the intersection before the crosswalk while it is green. you see one car pass by you in the opposite lane. you move up past the cross walk while it's still green watch, because there are no other cars. The light just turns yellow and there is one car he is at the light further down the road. so you friend waits starts to make the turn slowly but as you are the passenger you see the light has turned red while at the turn, but the turn is completed and the driver has to only go straight but you hear a engine rev to your right and then a brake hit from the other driver. your door gets hit with his right middle of his car.

What am I to think? Sue my friend who took it slow or the person who ran the red light going at 50+mph in a 30mph zone?
I was brought up to be a JUST person. My friend is a upstanding citizen more than most people who has saved MANY MANY lives and will continue to do so. Why would I want to take that kind of person's money? The person makes practically makes zero dollars. I make plenty of money so I don't care to sue anyone. I am somewhat of a naive person, I still think there are good people in this world who do not think about money. I think all money should be achieved by hard work and skills, not by being a pitiful scavenger.

Yes let's sue the good people and let the bad people keep the money.
I don't know how to make it any clearer to lawyers or insurance people because they only see money with their eyes. No church/temple or God(s) will save anyone if all they care about is money.

 

[seniorjudge]

Q: Sue my friend who took it slow or the person who ran the red light going at 50+mph in a 30mph zone?

A: Sue both of them. (By the way, your post has nothing to do with "justice"; you're asking about money damages, so can the sermons.)

 

[ecmst12]

Your friend has insurance, right?

Your assessment of fault in the accident is clearly based on your emotional reaction and has NOTHING to do with the law.

 

[leebin]

Yes my friend has insurance
So you're telling me if my friend is showing me around a neighborhood while walking and we happen to walk in front of a person who has a gun and I get shot, it'd be my friends fault too?
So running a red light at 30 mph above the speed limit isn't against the law?
Alright. I think your logic is flawed. Whether I am emotional or not has nothing to do what happened.

As I recall emotions drive laws into place. Abortion is namely one of them. I don't even think I need to explain this one. Separation of church and State, which is a joke now. States were trying to ban the word "evolution". We have so many stupid laws driven by emotion why stop now? The difference in my "emotional assessment" is that it is based on facts. Running red light illegal Check. Going above the state speed limit check. But like I said in my earlier post MOOT.

Senior Judge: I'm actually not going after either. I met the other driver. He's a really nice guy who councils young minds ,and had a bad day. He had a flat tired prior to the accident and needed to be somewhere. I can understand those days. I'm going to stay out of it for the most part, but I will let both insurance companies know what happened.

 

[tammy8]

OP are you an insurance agent or adjuster?


If not then read the advice of those of us that are.

Your friend is proably more than 99% at fault. He should have watched until his car had a green arrow. He failed to yield. I have a place I have to make a left turn everyday and I hate turning so I always yield until I get the arrow (usually with several cars behind me honking the horn but better safe than sorry.