The Known Dangers of Texting and Driving

May 28, 2016 | Car Accidents

Texting and driving is a relatively new concept. Before the invention of cell phones, a driver would more likely have been distracted by lighting up a cigarette or using the radio. While those causes are still responsible for accidents, talking or texting on the cell phone is certainly much more common, even if it is illegal behind the wheel of a motor vehicle.

Highways are busier than ever before, with both people and freight rushing to their destinations as fast as they can. If you as a driver take your eyes off the road to pick up a cell phone or use your hands to write and send a text, anything could happen in the few seconds that concentration has been lost.

Types of Accidents When Texting

The most likely accident is rear ending a vehicle in front of you which has stopped, perhaps at a red light, a road intersection or just to avoid a hazard. If you are driving along and are rear ended when stopped at a red light, serious injuries can result to both drivers and passengers.

Texting drivers commonly side swipe other drivers, run red lights and stop signs, and hit pedestrians. A distracted driver covers a great distance while their attention is not where it should be. A countless number of harms are reported from distracted and texting drivers.

Devastating Injuries From Texting and Driving

Depending on the speed of the texting driver and the location of impact, injuries will often range from minor soft tissue damage to wrongful deaths. A driver who is rear ended may suffer whiplash when the neck is thrown forward suddenly. Whiplash can cause a lifetime of pain. There could be other serious injuries, like a severe head injury if the driver of the stationery or slower vehicle is taken by surprise and unable to brace before the impact. Worse still are injuries in a head on collision, like spinal or traumatic brain injuries.

What Should I Do If I Am Injured by a Texting Driver?

If your injury is serious and you require medical attention in Missouri, you have the legal right to file a personal injury claim against the person who caused your accident. Missouri law requires the at fault party to pay for all of the victims accident related damages. After an accident, the insurance company for the at fault party will immediately try to contact the victim. Their primary purpose is to investigate the claim and obtain evidence which is favorable to their side of the case. An injury victim should never speak to an insurance company until they have first discussed their case with an injury lawyer.

It is important that you have someone who is investigating the claim on your behalf. Insurance companies are billion dollar corporations who make money by paying out less for claims than they bring in through premiums. They have no incentive to pay you what is fair and reasonable for your loss.

After an accident, contact The Dixon Injury Firm for a FREE legal consultation. Our injury lawyers are standing by to help by calling (314) 409-7060. With offices in St. Louis and Chicago, our lawyers represent injury victims across the entire state of Missouri and Illinois.