Holding distracted drivers accountable for the damage they cause
Welcome back. In our last post, we discussed how, despite strict laws against it in many states, the percentage of drivers who admit to emailing, surfing the Internet and checking social media is increasing while the percentage of drivers who admit to texting is staying roughly the same.
Only the percentage of drivers who say they talk on a hand-held cellphone while driving has decreased over the past six years, according to surveys conducted by State Farm insurance.
As you may have guessed, distracted driving is a factor in many serious car accidents in California, and cellphones are a major culprit. As we discussed in an article on our website, all California drivers are prohibited from texting and using a hand-held cellphone while driving, which means they can face serious consequences if they cause an accident while violating these laws.
Not only can distracted drivers be criminally charged for causing car accidents, they can also face liability in personal injury lawsuits. In a personal injury lawsuit following a serious car accident, the plaintiff must prove that the other driver was negligent and that was a primary cause of the crash. It is much easier to prove that negligence occurred if the driver had been violating the law.
Of course, it’s not always easy to prove that a driver was distracted by a cellphone; that’s where an experienced personal injury lawyer comes in. An experienced personal injury attorney can make sure that a prompt and thorough investigation takes place to expose all crucial evidence.
However, there is a small window of time in which evidence is preserved and the memories of witnesses remain intact. That’s why it’s important to contact a personal injury lawyer as soon as possible following a serious car accident that may have been caused by a distracted driver.