Personal Injury Law
2 pages
English
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2 pages
English
Le téléchargement nécessite un accès à la bibliothèque YouScribe
Tout savoir sur nos offres

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Crary Buchanan Stuart Florida - Personal Injury Lawyers. Visit: http://www.crarybuchanan.com/personal-injury/

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Publié par
Publié le 07 juillet 2016
Nombre de lectures 2
Langue English

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BE CAREFUL WHO YOU TEXT: YOU MAY BE HELD RESPONSIBLE FOR CAUSING A CAR ACCIDENT
Textingwhile drivingis considered one of the most dangerous epidemics on American roadways, even compared to drunk driving. Bycommandingthe visual, cognitive, and manual attention of a driver, textingcan create a crash risk nearly23 times worse than not textingor usinga cellphone, accordingto statisticspublished bythe National HighwayTraffic SafetyAdministration(NHTSA). With the risks of textingbehind the wheel so well known, manystates throughout the U.S. have passed laws banningthe act. Florida’s textingban – as a secondarylaw – will take effect on the first of October.
Although manyAmericans are aware that drivers can be held accountable for placingothers in danger by texting, a recent decision reached by a New Jerseycourt is beginningtoquestion whether other individuals – specificallythepeople who send text messages to drivers – can also be held accountable when distracted drivers cause auto accidents.
The New Jerseycase stems from an incident in September of 2009 in which an 18-year-old man was textinghis 17-year-oldgirlfriend while drivinghis pickuptruck. While sendinga text message, the youngman veered into oncomingtraffic and struck a man and his wife ridinga motorcycle. Both the man and his wife suffered serious injuries and eventually lost their legs.
In court, the victims sued not onlythe distracted driver, but also hisgirlfriend. Accordingto their claim, she was responsible for their damages because sheplayed a role in distractingthe driver. While theyeventually settled with the driver, they lost the case with his girlfriend; that is, until they appealed.
Byarguingthat the teengirl was “electronicallyin the car” with the driver at the time of the accident, the victims’ attorneyclaimed that,just as with someone who was sittingnext to him and willfullycausing a distraction, she should be held accountable. As a result of this argument, three appeals courtjudges agreed with the victims’ claim. Theyruled that senders of text messages who know that the recipient is drivingand textingcan be held responsible for distraction and anyaccident and damages that result. In thisparticular case, however, thejudges did not hold the teengirl accountable, as she was unaware as to whether the recipient was behind the wheel or not.
While thegirl was not held accountable in this case, the court’s decision does set a standard that mayhold future texters responsible for sendingmessages topeople theyknow are behind the wheel. For thequestion of whether or notyou can be held liable for sendinga text message to a distracted driver, the answer mayverywell be, “possibly” – at least in New Jersey. Onlytime will tell how these types of situations are handled in other jurisdictions.
For more information about distracted driving, liability, or the rights of injured auto accident victims, contact a Stuart personal injury lawyer or visithttp://www.crarybuchanan.com/personal-injury/.
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