Fault in an Intersection Accident

My question involves a traffic accident in the State of: New Jersey

Our car was involved in an intersection accident and we have a question concerning fault and the police report. We came to an intersection with a stop sign and fully stopped. We waited and looked and no cars could be seen coming in any direction. When we pulled out to cross the intersection, a van came down the road in the cross direction at well over the speed limit - 60 or more in a 40. They struck our vehicle.

At the scene we were told that the other driver was speeding and that witnesses did not see the car coming. However, the eventual police report lists us as having "failed to yield" and the other driver as having done nothing wrong.

The police have suggested that this is because there is a law saying that even if the other driver had been doing 100 mph she would have no responsibility. Is there such a law? We want to contest this for insurance reasons.

how far down the road could you see in the direction the van came from?

The insurance companies are not bound by the police report. If NJ is similar to many other states, the only insurance hit the police report might effect is that it might count against your license (points).

As JK asked, how far down the road could you see? Was this a straight roadway, or curved? Were there any obstructions in the way?

If straight, then you are almost certainly required to yield until it is safe to proceed. Sorry, but this may be a hard one for you to overcome, especially since you cannot possibly verify the other vehicle's speed without a very expensive analysis of the damage and the scene.

The road was fairly clear. We had a long line of sight, and could not see the car until we were about 1/4 of the way into the intersection.

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Quoting Feqqr

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The road was fairly clear. We had a long line of sight, and could not see the car until we were about 1/4 of the way into the intersection.

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If you had a clear and unobstructed view, then I am afraid you will be seen at fault unless the other vehicle was doing mach 1.

You can certainly speak to your insurance company to see if they can offer you forgiveness for this collision, but there is no real chance of contesting the police determination of fault.