If a driver takes their attention off the road due to a manual, visual, or cognitive distraction, it can lead to a car accident that can cause catastrophic damages like medical bills, property damage, and pain and suffering. A distracted driver cannot properly adjust to everything happening on the road, maneuver away from unpredictable obstacles, or make proper decisions behind the wheel that keep others on the road safe. Distracted driving is a negligent driving behavior that can leave someone liable for damages in a distracted driving accident claim.
If you were struck by a distracted driver, you could file a distracted driving accident claim to pursue damages from the at-fault party’s insurance company. A car accident lawyer with experience in distracted driving accident claims can help you assess damages, determine liability, and negotiate a settlement with the at-fault party’s insurance company. The distracted driving accident attorneys at The Russo Firm have helped many victims of distracted driving over decades of service and can apply their resources and experience to your claim as well.
Why Choose The Russo Firm for Help With Your Distracted Driving Accident Claim?
Drivers owe others they share the road with a duty of care, which is the duty to behave safely behind the wheel to ensure the safety and well-being of others on the road. Driving distracted breaches this duty of care and can cause severe injuries like traumatic brain injuries (TBIs), broken bones, and spinal cord injuries. The distracted driving lawyers at The Russo Firm understand the pain caused by these types of injuries, and can use their experience to help you pursue fair compensation for damages.
At The Russo Firm, we offer personalized attention to all of our clients. This means that we will invest in your specific case, learning from you what happened and shaping the claims process plan around what you tell us. We do not believe in a “one size fits all” approach to legal counsel and will invest our time and resources to ensure you recover fair compensation for your damages. Contact The Russo Firm today for a free consultation to learn how we can help you recover compensation for the full cost of your distracted driving accident damages.
The Russo Firm Case Results
You can recover fair compensation for your distracted driving accident damages through a settlement or court award. The distracted driving accident lawyers at The Russo Firm have experience earning fair compensation through settlement negotiations and court cases. Each has its own protocols and processes that our lawyers have in-depth knowledge of and experience in.
The distracted driving attorneys at The Russo Firm know how insurance companies will try to delay, devalue, or deny your settlement. They can use their experience in settlement negotiations to combat any attempts to limit your settlement and will do everything in their power to put you in the best position to recover compensation that can pay for the full cost of your damages. If a settlement cannot be reached, we can represent you in court.
The following are some of the case results The Russo Firm lawyers have earned for their clients:
- $3.3 Million for Car Accident Caused by Drunk Driving
- $2.4 Million for Medical Malpractice Misdiagnosis
- $2 Million for Wrongful Death Trucking Accident
- $1.75 Million Product Liability Jury Award
- $650 Thousand for Car Accident Jury Award
Types of Driving Distractions That Can Cause a Motor Vehicle Accidents
A distraction is anything that takes your attention away from the road while you are driving. This lack of attention on the road can cause a motor vehicle accident due to you disobeying road rules, driving above the speed limit, or failing to stop at a red light or stop sign.
Distractions can come in many forms behind the wheel. While many may view distractions as those that take your eyes off the road, there are many other types of distractions that can take your attention away from driving. If you are thinking about what’s for dinner or an argument you had earlier in the day, that can lead to you not remembering where you are going or slipping out of focus long enough to commit negligent driving behavior.
The following are the three types of distractions drivers can experience behind the wheel:
- Manual distractions: These are distractions that take your hands off the wheel. Without your hands on the wheel, you may not be able to turn the car in time to avoid an obstacle and can cause a car accident as a result.
- Visual distractions: Anything inside or outside of the vehicle that can take the driver’s eyes off the road is considered a visual distraction. If you are not looking at the road, it’s impossible to stop before a stop sign or red light, change into the proper lane, or make a necessary evasive driving maneuver.
- Cognitive distractions: This is any distraction that takes your attention away from the road. If you are thinking deeply about something other than driving, you may not be able to properly deal with road hazards and can cause a car accident.
These distractions can cause significant danger to others on the road. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), 3,142 people lost their lives due to distracted driving in 2020. Always be aware of these distractions to protect others on the road.
Common Types of Distractions That Can Cause a Distracted Driving Accident
The above categories of distractions are all equally dangerous and can cause distracted driving accidents. Within each category, there are common types of distractions that can take a driver’s eyes off the road, hands off the wheel, or attention away from driving.
The following are some of the common types of distractions that can cause a road accident:
- Using a cell phone for texting, calling, or social media
- Looking at or adjusting a GPS
- Eating and drinking
- Putting on makeup
- Having an in-depth conversation with someone else in the car
- Adjusting the radio
- Looking at something outside of the car
If you were involved in a distracted driving accident, you could file a distracted driving claim to pursue compensation for damages. A distracted driving attorney can help you prove the at-fault party’s liability and put you in the best position to recover compensation for the full cost of your damages.
Distracted Driving Accident Injuries
A distracted driving accident can expose your body to significant impact that can result in severe injury. Motor vehicle accident severe injuries can be caused by blunt force and penetrating trauma, direct blows from a hard object, whiplash, and crushing impact from being compressed between two hard objects. The amount of stress put on your body’s ligaments, tendons, and bones can cause massive damage and severe injury that can affect your standard of living moving forward.
The following are some of the severe injuries caused by a distracted driving accident that you can pursue compensation for:
- Spinal cord injuries
- Traumatic brain injuries
- Broken bones
- Soft tissue injuries
- Shoulder injuries
- Knee injuries
- Back and neck injuries
- Facial injuries
- Internal injuries
- Infections
What You Should Do After a Distracted Driving Accident
After a distracted driving accident, you need to prioritize both your health and your financial situation. You likely suffered severe injuries that can cause immense pain and suffering and require medical treatment that can cost more than you can afford. You need to take the necessary steps that can help you deal with the pain of your injuries and put you in a position to recover fair compensation for your damages.
The following are some of the things you should do after a distracted driving accident:
- Receive medical treatment for severe injuries caused by the distracted driving accident
- Take pictures and videos of evidence at the scene of the distracted driving accident
- Exchange contact information with the distracted driver and any witnesses
- Notify your insurance company of the distracted driving accident
- Collect essential records, like police reports and medical records
- Write down all the details you can remember from the distracted driving accident
- Hire a distracted driving accident lawyer
Filing a Distracted Driving Accident Claim
In almost all distracted driving accident claims, the liable party is the driver who got distracted and caused an accident as a result. To recover compensation for your damages, you must prove that the driver was distracted and caused the motor vehicle accident.
Most states operate under the theory of negligence, which means you must prove the following:
- The distracted driver owed you a duty of care
- They breached that duty of care through negligent behavior (distracted driving)
- You received significant damage from the distracted driving accident
- Those damages resulted from the distracted driving that led to a breach of duty of care
A distracted driving accident lawyer can help you determine the at-fault party and collect evidence that can help prove the at-fault party’s liability. Some of the evidence they can collect to prove liability includes photographic and video evidence from the scene of the accident, police reports, witness statements, medical records, insurance statements, vehicle accident reconstructions, etc.
Damages in a Distracted Driving Accident Claim
Following a distracted driving accident, you can file a distracted driving accident claim to pursue compensation for damages, which are financial losses associated with the accident. You can pursue compensation for any damages that result from the negligence of the at-fault party. These damages can include those that you have already incurred and those that may happen down the line.
A distracted driving lawyer can help assess the economic and non-economic damages to calculate the full cost of your damages. Economic damages, such as medical bills, lost wages, and property damages, are those with a specific economic value that your lawyer can point to. Non-economic damages, such as pain and suffering, mental anguish, and loss of consortium, are those without a specific economic value but still occur and cause changes to your standard of living.
The following are some of the car accident damages you can pursue compensation for in a distracted driving accident claim:
- Medical bills
- Property damage
- Lost wages
- Lost earning potential
- Disability costs
- Mental anguish
- Pain and suffering
- Loss of companionship
- Loss of consortium
- Loss of enjoyment of life
- Loss of society
How Can a Car Accident Lawyer Help With Your Distracted Driving Accident Claim?
Following a distracted driving accident, you can try to handle the claims process on your own to pursue compensation for damages. However, your lack of experience with distracted driving accident claims may lead to you making a mistake that can hurt your ability to recover full compensation.
Hiring a car accident lawyer with distracted driving accident claim experience is the best path toward recovering fair compensation for your damages. They have the experience and expertise necessary to know what the laws are for recovering compensation in your state, what steps can lead to the best results, and how to negotiate with the at-fault party’s insurance company. For the best chance at recovering fair compensation for distracted driving accident damages, you should hire a local car accident lawyer that can invest their time and resources into your claim.
The following are some of the ways a distracted driving accident attorney can help with your case:
- Assess your distracted driving accident damages
- Determine which party drove distracted and caused the car crash
- Send a demand letter to the distracted driver’s insurer
- Collect evidence and important records to prove the at-fault party’s liability
- Interview witnesses and experts that can strengthen your case
- Negotiate a settlement with the distracted driver’s insurance company
- Represent you in a distracted driving accident lawsuit court case
Contact The Russo Firm for Help With Your Distracted Driving Accident Claim
At The Russo Firm, we have car accident attorneys with specific experience in helping distracted driving accident victims. We understand how these accidents occur, what the laws are in different states, and what the best path is for proving the at-fault party’s liability. Allow our distracted driving accident lawyers to put you in the best chance for recovering fair compensation with personalized legal counsel, constant communication, and investment in the form of time and resources.
If you were involved in a distracted driving accident, you could get a free consultation with the Russo Law Firm’s distracted driving accident lawyers to see how they can help you recover compensation for your damages. Contact us at (561) 270-0913 or leave a message on our online contact page.