Distracted driving is one of the most dangerous practices drivers can engage in on the road. At all times, drivers are expected to have a full awareness of their surroundings. This is in case anything unexpected enters their field of vision — for example, a child chasing a ball across the road or a merging car — and they may need to react quickly. When drivers are texting, it becomes difficult — if not impossible — to be fully aware of their surroundings.
According to the federal Centers for Disease Control, nine people are killed every day in the U.S. as the result of distracted driving incidents. Distracted driving is an all too common practice in the U.S., which is something a woman and her three sons unfortunately were forced to learn.
The woman and her sons were involved in a terrifying texting-and-driving accident in New York. Driving northbound with her sons in the passenger seat, the woman’s car slammed head-on into a vehicle that was sideswiped by a texting driver. Both the texting driver and the sideswiped car had veered into the northbound lane. As a result of the crash, the woman and her son suffered myriad injuries, including rib fractures, a laceration that required 80 sutures and back and neck injuries.
The driver whose vehicle sideswiped the other car was cited for texting while driving. The woman who suffered injuries sued the driver and settled the matter in mediation for $600,000. Her sons received a portion of the settlement for their injuries as well.
Victims of car accidents are sometimes able to file negligence lawsuits when the other driver involved acts in a way that is considered reckless — for example, texting while driving. The pursuit of a negligence lawsuit is oftentimes aided by a vigorous legal strategy.
Source: Staten Island Advance, “Victims of terrifying texting-while-driving crash settle lawsuit for $600,000,” Frank Donnelly, March 25, 2014