How to Identify Distracted Drivers
Have you or a loved one been injured by a distracted driver? Shockingly, more people are injured by distracted drivers than by drunk drivers. On second thought, perhaps it’s not so shocking. After all, news headlines describe people injured because they’re distracted when they are walking on a boat dock, down the street, in a mall, and driving all because they are texting.
Could Your Accident Have Been Prevented?
Let’s think this through. If 25% of all car accidents are caused by distracted drivers, this means if we all paid attention while driving, 25% of all accidents could be prevented with little or no effort. If your family has been traumatized by a car accident and resulting injuries, distracted driving may have suddenly “hit home” — and is likely infuriating.
How to Identify Distracted Driving
If the driver, who caused your injury, was doing anything other than driving when he or she caused the accident, distracted driving was involved.
Here are common accident causing distracted driving causes:
- Texting
- Talking on the phone
- Looking at GPS
- Reading
- Adjusting the radio or GPS
- Dealing with children
- Dealing with pets
- Putting on makeup or nail polish
- Loud music
- Many passengers in the car
- Eating
- Picking up something dropped
- Daydreaming
Distracted Driving is Illegal and Negligent
If the driver, who injured you, was doing anything that created a hazard while drinking, his or her activity was illegal and is important to your personal injury case.
Your personal injury attorney would seek to show that:
- The other driver had a duty to drive safely and broke that duty.
- That breach of duty caused your personal injuries and property damage.
- You suffered medical bills, lost wages, lost benefits, damage to your car and personal property, pain and suffering. Perhaps, your family would have a case for loss of consortium.
Specifically, the key to winning a car accident case is to show:
- Duty and breach of duty. All drivers have a duty to you to drive safely and distracted driving is a breach of that duty.
- Causation. If the driver was texting and ran a red light and you suffered physical injury and damage to your car, the breach of duty caused your injuries.
- Legal damages. Examples of legal damages would be the expenses you incurred because of the accident — your medical bills, the cost of fixing your car, lost wages, and pain and suffering and the like.
Where to Get Help Getting Reimbursed for Your Losses
If you’ve been hurt and suffered losses just because some other driver didn’t take a moment to pull over and look at his GPS, take a call, or finish his sandwich you may have a legal claim to receive reimbursement for all of your losses.
When you consult with a personal injury attorney, you can get the answers you need to important questions such as:
- Do I have a case?
- How much is my case worth?
- Should I hire a PI lawyer?
- How do I proceed?
If you’ve had a loved one who has already gone through a similar tragedy and was happy with his or her legal representation, you could ask for a referral. However, there are other ways to find a good PI lawyer as well. For example, you could call the bar association and request a list of personal injury attorneys or feel free to use our free site, www.attorneys.org.
This site is free private and you can receive a free case evaluation from your choice of licensed personal injury attorneys at no obligation. We hope you heal quickly and get back to normal. Best wishes.
