Dallas Distracted Driving Accident Lawyers

Injured by a Driver in Dallas Who Was Texting?

Texting or using a phone while driving is one of the leading causes of motor vehicle accidents today. Although campaigns against texting while driving have been effective to some degree, millions of drivers continue to engage in the dangerous habit of texting while driving. Such behavior is reckless and voluntarily puts the lives of other individuals on the road at risk. When operating a motor vehicle, taking your eyes off the road for a matter of seconds can result in the serious bodily injury or even wrongful death of another individual.

Distracted driving unnecessarily takes the lives of many individuals every year. Those who do survive are often forced to deal with life-altering injuries. Nearly 6,000 individuals die every year due to collisions with distracted drivers. Several studies have shown that texting while driving can actually be more dangerous than drunk driving.

If you or a loved one has been injured by a driver partaking in any actions such as using a PDA, emailing, talking on a cell phone, or texting while driving, you have the right to speak with a Dallas distracted driving accident lawyer regarding your compensation. Contact The Lenahan Law Firm today at (214) 295-1008 to schedule your case evaluation!

"...Nothing could prepare me for a 16 year old using a cell phone while driving...We didn’t have any family to turn to during these troubling times and I have to say it must have been a gift from God that helped me find Lenahan Law..."
- Lyle

Why Do Drivers Become Distracted?

In the past decade, distracted driving has been steadily on the rise as the use of cell phones has become more and more popular. These days it is considered abnormal for a person to not own a smart phone, and there are social pressures to use it at all times, even when driving.

That pressure to stay connected is certainly no excuse for not paying attention to the rode. However, texting or chatting on the phone is not the only way drivers can become distracted. Drivers can commonly become inattentive because they are eating, playing with the radio, having a conversation with a particularly chatty passenger, putting on makeup, or rubbernecking.

The term rubbernecking refers to when a driver becomes distracted by something on the road or sidewalk next to them, such as with an animal, and turns their head to look at it. What was meant to be a split-second glance can turn into daydreaming, meaning they are no longer looking at the road. It is incredibly dangerous and often leads to catastrophic injuries and damages.

What Are the Dangers of Distracted Drivers?

When a person drives while distracted, it puts everyone on the road around them at risk. A distracted driver won’t know to reduce their speed if the traffic in front of them begins to slow down, won’t know to turn if the road begins to curve, and won’t know to come to a complete stop if someone or something crosses the road in front of them.

According to the Texas Department of Transportation (TDOT) in the most recent year in which statistics are available, driver inattention accounted for 84,835 accidents. Of that, an alarming 260 were fatal. That means that someone dies due to a distracted driver in Texas roughly every day and a half. Another 26,065 of those crashes resulted in some level of injury. Car accident injuries are rarely minor or easy to walk off. Some of the more common ones include:

• Fractured, broken, and crushed bones
• Burn injuries
• Spine injuries
• Amputation or loss of limb
• Internal damage
• Traumatic brain injuries (TBI)
• Permanent disfigurement or scarring

Any of these injuries will require medical assistance and a lengthy recovery time in order to heal properly. That means you may be facing medical debts, lost wages after having to take time off work, and a great deal of pain and suffering as your body recovers. Recovering these damages isn’t possible unless you hold the at-fault party and their insurance company liable.

Liability in Texas

When you file a claim against a person and their insurance company, you will have to make a case as to why they are the one liable for your injuries. That involves proving fault. You can do this through witnesses who saw the accident, police reports, the at-fault driver’s cell phone data and social media activity, photos of the scene, and any other document that paints a clear picture as to what happened.

There are times, however, when accidents are not completely one person’s fault. For example, if you were hit by a driver on their cell phone while walking through a crosswalk, it is possible your injuries would not have happened if the driver had not been on the phone and were, instead, paying attention to the road. But, when you stepped on to the crosswalk, the light was not indicating it was safe to cross, meaning that the accident would have never happened if you had obeyed the light.

So, both people are at fault. But you are still suffering debilitating injuries and deserve compensation for what you have gone through. Can you still recover damages? In Texas, the answer is yes!

Texas follows comparative fault laws. So, as long as you are less than 51% responsible for the accident, you can still recover damages from the other at-fault party. It is important to know, however, that the amount you are awarded will be decreased by the percentage that you are found to be at fault. For example, if you are found to be 30% at fault, and are awarded $100,000 for damages, you will only actually receive $70,000, as the original amount would be reduced by 30%.

High-Quality Legal Guidance After a Car Accident in Dallas

At The Lenahan Law Firm, our Dallas auto accident attorneys have helped many individuals who were seriously injured after a collision with a distracted driver. Finding a firm that focuses exclusively on severe injury cases can be difficult and confusing for persons who have never had to do so before. We only accept the representation of those who are severely injured.

This is in stark contrast to most personal injury firms which also focus on divorce law, criminal law, or other areas of law in addition to personal injury cases. Unlike these firms, we are able to wholly devote our time to clients that are suffering from severe injury.

Our firm's legal team understands what it means to advocate for individuals who have been victimized by others who have broken the law. Dallas injury attorney Marc Lenahan was selected to serve as the National Crime Victim Bar Association's President-Elect for 2013.

Additional Information

• Cognitive Distractions and Their Role in Car Accidents
• Things That Constitute “Distracted Driving” in Texas
• Will AI Cameras Make Amazon Delivery Vehicles Safer?
• Distracted Driving: Does Your Teen Know The Dangers?
• Distracted Driving - NHTSA