A common cause of collisions resulting in serious injuries are left turn accidents, many are at intersections in cities throughout the Valley.
There are many more collisions resulting from left turns than right turns. Left hand turns are much more likely to result in pedestrian injuries and motorcycle accidents than right hand turns.
Under Arizona Revised Statutes ARS §28-772, the driver of a vehicle within an intersection intending to turn left shall yield the right of way to a vehicle that is approaching from the opposite direction and that is within the intersection or so close to the intersection as to constitute an immediate hazard.
Examples of left hand turn cases, where drivers were negligent and catastrophic results occurred, include the following:
• A motorcyclist was hit by a left turning driver on SR 260 in Pinetop, the motorcyclist was killed, I represented his wife, the case was resolved with the insurance company for the negligent driver and the underinsurance carrier of the decedent and his wife.
• A driver drove her vehicle south on Tatum Boulevard and Lincoln Drive in Paradise Valley and made a left turn, her vehicle struck a northbound motorcyclist, he was killed. I represented the motorcyclist’s two adult children and his mother. The claim was settled with the negligent driver’s insurance company.
• In another collision at the same intersection, Tatum Boulevard and Lincoln Drive, a southbound driver made a left turn, and failed to yield the right of way to a northbound motorcyclist, causing a crash resulting in serious injuries to the motorcyclist, including leg fractures and implanted hardware.
• A client of mine was proceeding westbound on Frank Lloyd Wright Boulevard and Thompson Peak Parkway, in Scottsdale, on a green light, his vehicle was hit by a left turning vehicle. My client sustained traumatic brain injury, he underwent neurocognitive therapy.