Serving Maryland and Washington D.C. 301-870-1200

Distracted Driving Car Accidents

Charles County Distracted Driving Car Accidents

A 17-year-old checks Facebook while driving and kills a man and his 10-year-old daughter. A teenager playing with her phone while driving a Chevy Trailblazer narrowly survives a distracted driving accident but is killed one year later while doing the same thing again. A pickup driver kills 13 people while checking text messages and lives to regret his actions. These are all examples of distracted driving accidents. You may have noticed that all the examples involved mobile electronics. While there are many ways drivers can become distracted, smartphones are rapidly becoming the most statistically dangerous way these kinds of accidents happen.

The Dept of Motor Vehicles divides distracted driving into three categories:

  • Visual: When the driver takes his eyes off the road
  • Manual: When the driver performs actions other than driving, like eating
  • Cognitive: When the driver’s mind is not on the task of driving

These are listed in order of most to least dangerous, though they all are known to cause deadly accidents. In a visual incident of distracted driving, the driver willfully takes his eyes off the road. Being distracted by a mobile device is the most dangerous because the driver loses the benefit of eyes on the road, but he also loses any mental concentration on the task of driving. As an added hazard, texting drivers don’t even have the benefit of peripheral vision as they would if they only looked at a passenger momentarily while talking.

Distracted Driving Car Accident Attorney in Charles County MD

Charles County car accident lawyers deal with these cases every day. They are a growing problem on Maryland roadways, and the legal system is acting. Maryland law adds an additional category to the DMV’s list of types of distracted driving, Auditory Distractions. This involves listening to music, podcasts, or any auditory distraction that takes the driver’s mind off the road.

The use of mobile electronics while driving is so dangerous that it is rapidly becoming a bigger concern for lawmakers and for law enforcement than even drunk driving. Every day, officers pull people over for using handheld computers, text messaging, playing electronic games, or using any device to send or receive emails. Drunk drivers are severely impaired, but they at least have their eyes on the road.

People are hurt, injured, suffer property damage, and die every day on America’s roadways because another driver chose to drive distracted and caused an accident. If you have been involved in an accident with a distracted driver and are not at fault, car accident lawyers in Charles County can help you to get the compensation you require.

A Charles County Distracted Driving Car Accident Attorney can help you to navigate the legal system while you recover from your injuries, negotiate with your insurance provider, repair or replace damaged property, and find ways to manage any potential loss of income. During this period, you may not have the time or the emotional fortitude to do the legal footwork required to receive payment for your damages. You need a legal professional who understands Maryland distracted driving law, has a winning track record, will represent your case in court, and deal with insurance claims adjusters. You need an experienced and qualified car accident lawyer in Charles County from the Law Office of Robert Castro.

How Charles County Car Accident Attorneys Can Help

The Law Office of Robert Castro will:

  • Gather evidence proving negligence of the at-fault party
  • Communicate with the at-fault party’s insurance company
  • Negotiate a settlement with your insurance company
  • Gather and organize medical records and bills
  • Represent your case at trial

Proving negligence in an auto accident can be a challenge. If the at-fault driver was using a mobile device during the accident, phone or email records may exist with a timestamp proving a connection between the distracted driving event and the collision. What’s more, there are many conventional ways to determine fault such as speeding, driving under the influence, driving a defective vehicle, ignoring traffic signs, and reckless driving. Witnesses, intersection cameras, tire marks on the street, damage to vehicles, and injuries can all provide evidence of these types of negligence.

If you have been involved in an auto accident and believe a distracted driver is at fault, get in touch with The Law Office of Robert Castro today.

Categories: