Texting and Driving as a Cause of an Auto Accident: What Are Your Rights as a Victim?
Today, most Las Vegas motorists have smartphones. Phones that can text are ubiquitous, and many people find it difficult to put down their phone even for brief periods — and even while driving their vehicles. Because texting and driving is so common — and so dangerous — there are rules in place designed to try to prevent motorists from texting while behind the wheel.
Unfortunately, many drivers fail to follow the law or exhibit reasonable caution and prudence when it comes to texting and driving. Despite the fact that texting significantly increases the risk of a motor vehicle collision occurring, drivers continue to text anyway.
This puts themselves at risk of injury, and it also endangers everyone else who might happen to be on the road at the same time.
When a motorist makes an unsafe decision to text instead of paying attention to driving, the risk of an accident is high. If a collision does occur, victims or surviving family members of people who are killed in collisions need to talk with LV Personal Injury Lawyers. Our compassionate and knowledgeable legal team led by veteran injury attorney Zachary D. Clayton regularly represents clients hurt in distracted driving crashes, and we can work closely with you to put together a solid case and fight for full and fair compensation for all losses that result from motor vehicle accidents.
Why is Texting and Driving so Dangerous?
Texting and driving is dangerous for a number of reasons, including the fact that you take your eyes off the road, your hands off the wheel, and your mind off driving.
When a motorist texts, he tends to look down at his phone for long enough to travel the entire length of a football field blind. Traveling a long distance with your eyes on the phone instead of on the road makes it significantly more likely that you will hit another car, a pedestrian, a motorcyclist, a bicycle rider, or even buildings, road signs, or other fixed objects on the road. After all, you cannot see what is in front if you if your eyes are focused on your phone screen as you send or read a text.
A motorist who texts while he is driving across Las Vegas is also likely using his hands to type instead of using his hands to control the car. That makes it more likely that a motorist will veer into the wrong lane or otherwise engage in unsafe behavior that makes it more likely he’ll strike another car or others on the road.
Even drivers who use hands-free systems to try to text — such as voice control systems — are still putting themselves and others at risk by increasing the likelihood of accidents happening. The problem is that our brains are not good at multi-tasking or switching between doing different things at the same time.
Studies have shown motorists who use voice control systems to text may actually be distracted for longer than drivers who text by hand — and during the entire time you’re dictating a text or listening to a text being read to you, you’re not as focused on the road as you should be.
Drivers talking to their devices or using voice texting systems can suffer from inattention blindness where their brains do not see and process information sitting right in front of them. The result of this is that these motorists may not notice if a pedestrian is crossing or if a car in front of them stops and could hit the car or person as a result.
Who is Responsible for Texting and Driving Accidents?
If a driver opts to take the risk of texting and driving despite the dangers, that motorist could be found legally liable for a resulting collision in Nevada and could thus be required to compensate crash victims for losses they have experienced.
What Our Clients Say
I suffered a devastating auto accident in Las Vegas due to someone else's fault. I was fortunate enough to call LV Personal Injury Lawyers who helped me in the most effective and client-friendly way possible.
If the motorist was working at the time, it’s possible his or her employer could also be held responsible.
A texting and driving accident lawyer at LV Personal Injury Lawyers firm can help anyone hurt by a distracted driver to take legal action and pursue a claim for compensation for losses caused by the negligent motorist. Victims have to prove the other driver’s negligence was the direct cause of the accident and injuries but the presumption of negligence is created if a motorist broke safety rules related to distracted driving. A victim hurt by the crash could also show no reasonable driver would have behaved so unsafely.
Compensation for Texting and Driving Accidents
Attorney Zachary D. Clayton helps crash victims not only to prove that a distracted driver was the direct cause of a texting and driving accident, but we can also provide assistance showing how badly the accident hurt you. This is important because crash victims are entitled to be fully and fairly compensated for losses. Victims should be paid compensation for economic and non-financial damage including medical expenses, wage loss, pain, and emotional distress.
In the event a distracted driving accident is fatal, surviving family members of victims killed in the crash should be entitled to wrongful death damages.
Getting Help From a Vegas Distracted Driving Accident Attorney
Clark County accident attorneys will represent your interests and fight to help you obtain full and fair compensation if you were hurt in a crash caused by texting and driving.
To find out more about how our firm can help you, give us a call today.