Have You Been The Victim Of A Distracted Driver?
The act of texting and driving has been in the news lately, given the many states that have recently enacted bans. However, the wider classification of distracted driving encompasses more than just texting, and it causes even more injuries and fatalities than those ascribed to texting alone. If you have been the victim of a distracted driver, you may very well have a good case to seek compensation from them if you can establish their negligence.
Multiple Types of Distraction Cause Danger
Texting while driving is a dangerous habit, but it is only one of the patterns of distraction that happen on the road every day. The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) estimates that in 2016, approximately 3,450 people were killed as a result of crashes that involved a distracted driver. There are multiple types of distractions, and in some cases, an activity may involve all of them. They are loosely grouped into three categories – visual (such as turning your head or eyes away from the road), manual (such as taking your hands off the wheel), or cognitive-mental (such as zoning out or otherwise taking your mind off driving).
Teenagers and young adults tend to be the most commonly distracted on the road, with as many as 10 percent of car crash fatalities in that age group being due to distracted driving, and also having the highest reported total of texters, with as many as 40 percent admitting to texting and driving at any time. However, anyone is capable of being distracted and losing control. If you have been injured in this type of accident, all you need to do is establish that the other driver was negligent, which is far from impossible.
If You Have Been Injured
In order to receive compensation for your injuries, you need to be able to show that your injuries were a direct result of the defendant’s actions. In Pennsylvania, a plaintiff in a personal injury suit must establish four things to the court’s satisfaction, or they will not prevail in their suit. Those four things are:
- That the defendant owed a duty to exercise reasonable care toward the plaintiff – in Pennsylvania, motorists are generally held to owe a duty to the other people on the road with them;
- That the defendant’s conduct breached that duty of care – that is, showing that the defendant did not exercise reasonable care;
- That your (the plaintiff’s) injuries were due to the defendant’s conduct/breach of duty,; and
- That you actually suffered real harm.
All of these criteria have to be established for the court, because without one or more, the court will not arrive at a finding of negligence. In some cases, the court may find that you, the plaintiff, were partially responsible for your own injuries, but this will not preclude recovery for you unless it can be shown that your percentage of fault is more than the defendant’s (or combined defendants’, if there is more than one in your case).
Call A Stroudsburg Distracted Driving Lawyer Today
Distracted driving is something that so many do not take seriously, but it can cause significant harm and injury. If you have been unfortunate enough to have been injured by a distracted driver, you need an experienced Scranton auto accident attorney who understands how best to handle this type of case. The Needle Law Firm is happy to try and assist you. We serve Scranton, Stroudsburg, Wilkes-Barre, and most of northeastern Pennsylvania. Call us for a free consultation today.
Resource:
legis.state.pa.us/WU01/LI/LI/CT/HTM/42/00.071.002.000..HTM
cdc.gov/motorvehiclesafety/distracted_driving/index.html
/distracted-driving-laws-in-pennsylvania/
