After an accident, you may be wondering, “I hit a stop sign with my car; does that make me unable to file an accident claim?” While stop sign accidents may have some ramifications for your claim, that does not mean you are ineligible to recover compensation. In this article, we’ll explain your legal options and how aFort Lauderdale car accident lawyer can help.
How Does a Car Hitting a Stop Sign Affect Liability?
In Florida, hitting a stop sign may benegligence per se. But under this law, negligence must be proven through evidence of four key elements:
- Duty of Care: You had a duty to act responsibly, for example, by following traffic laws.
- Breach: You breached that duty through careless actions.
- Causation: Your actions led to an accident.
- Damages: Another party had losses because of your actions.
What these four elements mean is that if you hit a stop sign because you were speeding, intoxicated, or distracted, then you would have committed a negligent action.
However, in Florida, you do have the right to challenge a claim of negligence. For example, if you hit a stop sign because another car veered into your lane and you needed to avoid them, then the other car’s driver may be the one who acted negligently.
If hitting a stop sign was beyond your control, then you may need to prove that another party’s negligence caused you to do so.
The context and surrounding circumstances are essential. A malfunctioning traffic light, poor visibility, or lack of proper signage can all shift liability away from the driver who hit the sign. Florida courts often consider whether an “ordinary and prudent driver” could have avoided the accident under similar conditions.
Further, the presence of defective road conditions, such as oil spills or sudden potholes, may allow you to redirect liability toward a municipality or road maintenance contractor. Documenting these hazards is essential for building a successful defense.
Proving Negligence for Car Accident Claims
If another party was negligent and it caused you to hit a stop sign, aFort Lauderdale personal injury lawyer can help you prove it.
They will carefully investigate the accident to gather evidence of the four elements of negligence. Evidence may include:
- Witness statements
- Video footage, such as from traffic cameras or security cameras
- Physical evidence, such as skid marks
- Phone records, if the other driver was on their phone at the time of the accident
- Medical records
- Police reports
- Expert testimony, such as from a crash reconstruction specialist
If you can prove that the at-fault driver was negligent, then your car accident claim may still be successful despite hitting a stop sign. With a successful personal injury claim, you may recover compensation for losses such as:
- Medical bills
- Pain and suffering
- Emotional distress
- Lost wages
- Diminished earning capacity
Proving negligence is often more nuanced than simply pointing to who made contact with what. Forensic engineers and crash reconstruction experts can help determine vehicle speeds, angles of impact, and timing sequences. Their testimony can clarify that your maneuver was a defensive response to avoid greater harm.
If your vehicle sustained substantial damage while hitting a stop sign, those repair records can serve as indirect evidence of the force of impact and the need to act swiftly. Preserving your car’s damage assessment is essential in cases involving evasive action.
Can Municipalities Share Liability in Stop Sign Accidents?
In some cases, local governments or public agencies may be partly responsible. Missing, obscured, or damaged stop signs can create hazardous conditions. If a municipality was previously notified about the missing sign and failed to act, this may form the basis of a claim.
Filing a claim against a city or county in Florida requires following strict notice requirements under Florida Statutes § 768.28. Timeframes are short, and procedural rules must be followed carefully. Legal guidance is especially valuable in these cases to avoid delays or dismissal.
How Insurance Adjusters May Use the Stop Sign Incident Against You
Insurance companies may argue that hitting a stop sign demonstrates fault, even if you intended to avoid a more serious crash. They may reduce your compensation or deny your claim outright unless the evidence supports your side.
Statements you make at the scene or in a recorded conversation can be used to assign partial fault. This is why it’s vital to consult with a Fort Lauderdale car accident attorney before discussing the accident in detail with an insurer.
Your attorney can shield you from manipulative questioning and ensure that only factually accurate, legally vetted statements are presented.
How Can a Fort Lauderdale Car Accident Attorney Help?
If you’ve been injured after your car hit a stop sign, a Fort Lauderdale car accident lawyer can help you fight for fair compensation.
Your lawyer can help with the entire legal process. They can:
- Investigate the accident to determine all liable parties
- Gather evidence to build your claim
- File all necessary paperwork
- Answer your questions
- File any needed appeals, such as after an initial denial of your claim
- Negotiate with the insurance company
- Represent you in court if necessary
An attorney’s early involvement allows for immediate evidence preservation. They can issue subpoenas for surveillance footage, coordinate with engineers, and secure professional evaluations of road and vehicle conditions.
If you suffered injuries, your legal team can also work with medical experts to document the extent of your physical and psychological trauma. This ensures that both visible and hidden injuries are fairly compensated.
Choose a Legal Team With a Record of Proven Results
At the Law Offices of Wolf & Pravato, we understand how complicated fault can become in Florida traffic collisions. Our experienced legal team is here to analyze every angle of your case and advocate for your rights.
Results include:
- $3.85 million truck rollover settlement
- $5.25 million in a wrongful death truck accident case
- $925,000 negligent security case
- $2 million pedestrian accident recovery
We are known for handling complex cases, including those involving multiple parties, unclear liability, or government negligence. Let us investigate whether poor signage, defective roads, or reckless driving by others contributed to your stop sign incident.
Our firm works on a contingency fee basis. You pay nothing unless we recover compensation on your behalf.
We must get started before thetwo-year statute of limitations expires, though.
Call the Law Offices of Wolf & Pravato Today
Atthe Law Offices of Wolf & Pravato, our legal team is here to fight for you. We treat every client with compassion and dedication to their case. Contact us to get started with a free initial consultation.
Call (954) 633-8270 today.