Car Accident Lawyer
Most drivers will deny they were texting and driving given the serious implications that can result. There can also be serious implications with insurance and driving record if caught. However, each time a text message is sent, it is archived by the cell phone used and the carrier provider.
In Texas, a public bus driver sending text messages on his phone plowed the 12-ton vehicle he was driving into the back of a stopped SUV. After an accident injuring dozens of people, a Massachusetts trolley driver admitted he was texting his girlfriend when the crash occurred. In California, a commuter train engineer was sending and receiving text messages moments before a head-on collision with a freight train killed 25 people and injured 135 more.
As tragedies involving private motorists and public transit text-messaging drivers add up, so does the research indicating that more and more people are using their cell phones to send text messages while driving.
New research shows 26 percent of cell phone users nationwide send text messages while they’re behind the wheel (28 percent of Texas drivers admit to using their cell phones while driving). Almost 60 percent of teenage drivers admit to driving while texting (DWT) and 49 percent of those between 20 and 29 admit to DWT.
Support for a ban on texting or talking on a cell phone while driving is strong. According to the 2009 Vlingo Report survey of nearly 5,000 people, more than 83 percent say DWT should be illegal. Only 7 percent oppose outlawing it, while 10 percent are undecided.
National Safety Council says cell phone use while driving is one of the country’s most urgent traffic safety issues. The NSC is calling for a total ban on the activity nationwide, based on scientific estimates that cell phone use while driving contributes to 6 percent of all crashes, or 636,000 crashes annually. In those crashes, the NSC says there are 330,000 injuries, 12,000 serious injuries and 2,600 deaths.
Furthermore, as any car accident lawyer can tell you, there are a number of causes for a car accident. Driving while intoxicated, speeding, and driving when overtired are all common causes. However, due to technological advances in recent years, there is one serious danger on the road: texting and driving. This common problem has quickly become one of the top reasons for car accidents. At [ ] , we understand the magnitude of this problem.
Drivers often cause serious accidents when they choose to read or write text messages while driving. If the cause of the accident was due to texting and driving, an experienced automobile accident attorney can seek damages for the victims from the negligent party. If you were texting and driving when an accident occured, you might be held responsible for seriously injuring someone or worse: killing them. If you were injured from someone else’s negligence following a car accident, you may benefit from working with a car accident lawyer to help determine whether or not you have a case.
Proving Negligence
In order to be awarded a claim, you must be able to prove the other party was negligent. It is important that all of the following factors are present in order to collect damages:
- Duty of Care: All drivers must uphold a duty of care to others on the road which is the obligation to drive safely and abide by traffic rules. Duty of care when a person is driving extends to drivers, bicyclists, and pedestrians.
- Breach of Duty of Care: When a person fails to uphold their duty of care, it means that they failed to act safely on the road. In the case of texting of driving, the breach occurs when the driver engages with their phone while driving. When the driver does this, they have taken their attention away from the road.
- Causation or Proximate Cause: Causation links the injuries to the person’s breach in their duty of care. This means that causation takes a look at the person’s negligence and the injuries sustained by the victim as a result. A car accident lawyer Lakeland, FL residents trust would have to prove that the victim’s injuries were the result of the defendant’s actions. Causation states that if the person had not been negligent, the claimant would not have been injured.
Damages for Car Accident Injuries
Damages are calculated based on what a person lost as the result of the accident. Damages can include a variety of things, going far beyond just financial losses:
- Money needed to repair damaged property
- Lost wages
- Medical expenses
- Loss of earning capacity
- Pain and suffering
- Emotional distress
Contact a Car Accident Attorney
Suffering from a car accident can be a traumatic experience for all who are involved. If you’ve been injured in a car accident, contact a car accident lawyer today.
