TEXTING WHILE DRIVING AND PERSONAL INJURY CASES

Texting while driving is widely considered the most dangerous — but not the only form of distracted driving. This has serious ramifications for car accident attorneys and their clients. A personal injury lawsuit involving a driver who caused an accident while texting can help restore an injured victim by covering health care costs, lost wages, and other negative consequences of the wreck — but only with the help of an experienced team of personal injury lawyers. So why exactly is texting while driving so dangerous compared to other forms of distracted driving? The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) identify three types of distractions that affect drivers: Visual, manual, and cognitive. Essentially, when drivers stop watching the road, take their hands away from the steering wheel, or stop paying attention to the drive, they place others at risk. Texting behind the wheel, as the CDC points out, involves all three classes of distraction. To make matters worse, the average text pulls a driver’s gaze from the road for around 5 full seconds, says the CDC. At 55 miles per hour, a car covers hundreds of feet in that timespan. Unfortunately, pedestrians, cyclists, and other drivers and passengers sometimes pay the price for this clear instance of negligence.
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    Laws Against Texting While Driving In 2017, the Chicago Tribune reported that a shocking 25 percent of drivers involved in car accidents were using phones just before the crash. This is clearly a public health threat, and state legislatures across the U.S. have responded with laws prohibiting cell phone usage and/or texting while driving. As of this writing, 15 states have laws against using hand-held cellphones in any way while driving. Meanwhile, 47 states have banned texting while driving. (Missouri outlaws all texting behind the wheel for new drivers and motorists under 21, but the state does not currently have a blanket cellphone ban.) How do these statutes affect an injured party’s personal injury claims? If a driver has been charged with violating these laws, it will be much easier to prove liability in court. In addition, insurance companies are much more likely to settle cases where texting and driving can be proven. That’s a good thing for anyone who’s been injured by a distracted driver. Seeking Damages and Compensation in a Texting-While-Driving Case If you’ve been injured in a car accident, and you have reason to suspect another driver was texting during the event, you need proven personal injury attorneys to help make sure you obtain the restitution you deserve. The lawyers of Wilkins Schneller have obtained millions of dollars in personal injury damages for their clients, and they stand ready to help you with your texting-while-driving lawsuit from start to finish. Distracted driving is negligence, and negligence leads to liability; choose a personal injury lawyer who specializes in connecting these dots. Call the caring professionals of Wilkins Schneller at 314-588-8000 for a free consultation today.