Who Can Sue For A Car Accident

Despite significant safety improvements in automobiles and in the design of roads, car accidents remain quite common. It is likely that any given person will be involved in at least one serious automobile accident during his or her lifetime. 

If you are involved in a car accident, you may benefit from consulting a car accident attorney. The greater the damage or injury that results from a car accident, the more likely it is that a car accident lawsuit will follow.

There are a wide variety of possible causes for automobile accidents. One that is currently on the rise in causing accidents is driver negligence, which includes talking on a cell phone and texting while driving.  Consult a car accident lawyer or personal injury attorney if you have recently been involved in a car accident.

Cell Phone Usage

The number of cell phone subscribers in the United States reached approximately 159 million in 2003 according to the U.S Census Bureau. Of those 159 million people, 46% of women drivers and 47% of men drivers own a cell phone. Chances are a lot of them take the added risk of talking on their cell phone while driving.

Many researchers have done extensive studies into how cell phone use affects our driving. An early study showed that people talking on their cell phones while drivingwere four times more likely to get into an accident. In fact 25% of car accidents are found to be caused by cell phone usage.  Some drivers will even get out of their car after an accident with their cell phone still glued to their ear.

In addition, data demonstrates that cell phone use leads to 330,000 injuries, 12,000 serious injuries and 2,600 deaths each year. Even more shocking is that studies have also shown that drivers on cell phones are less capable than drunk drivers with a blood-alcohol level above 0.08.

If you have been in an accident with another driver, who was talking on their cell phone, you should contact a car an attorney to file a lawsuit claiming negligence.

Texting While Driving

In May 2009, the Texas House tentatively approved a measure, which would ban teens under age 18 from using a cell phone while driving, even if the phone is a hands-free device. Exceptions would be made only for making emergency calls while behind the wheel. Other states are following Texas’s lead on legislation for texting while driving. Contact a car accident lawyer or personal injury attorney to learn the law in your state.

According to Vlingo, who develops speech recognition technology for wireless phones, over 26% of cell phone users in the U.S. text while driving.

Texting while driving can be an even greater risk for a car accident because the driver tends to take their eyes off the road to look at their phone.

Examples of Negligence

On September 28, 2005 in Florida, a careless driver on a cell phone blazed through a red light at 55 mph and struck a woman’s driver-side door as she was going 20 mph attempting to make a left turn towards home. Her car was pushed 40 feet and her neck was broken in two places. She died instantly.

Another example has a woman driving to school in traffic in California. The woman slowed down and was crawling at about 5 mph with the rest of traffic. The woman said she looked in her rear view as a woman driving behind her who was on her cell phone came flying in at full speed. She finally realized to slow down, but it was too late and skidded into her 97' Jeep Grand Cherokee at about 35 mph.

Car Accident Legal Recourse

If you or a loved has been injured in an accident due to a negligent driver, you should contact a personal injury attorney or car accident lawyer to file a car accident lawsuit. A car accident attorney who specializes in car crashes can help you determine liability and recover car repair costs and any injury damages that come from driver neglect.