Distracted driving has become a public safety scourge. People find it so difficult to disconnect from their mobile phones that they look at them while driving or pick them up every time they stop at an intersection.
Generally speaking, the party that caused a car crash is liable for the financial harm experienced by others. Both negligence and wrongful acts can warrant personal injury litigation or justify an insurance claim after a collision. Texting while driving is a behavior most people recognize as unsafe, making it a potential form of negligence.
Kentucky also has a law banning manual texting while driving, making distracted driving a wrongful act. How do those involved in a distracted driving crash prove that another motorist was on their phone?
Police officers can secure phone records
When investigating a collision, authorities can seek to secure records from mobile phone companies and the businesses that support different mobile apps. Showing that an individual just received or sent a text message seconds before a crash occurred can be adequate proof to establish fault and, therefore, liability after a collision.
Video can support allegations
There are several types of cameras that can capture driver behavior on the road. Traffic cameras at busy intersections might capture footage of motorists staring into their laps or openly handling their phones. Security cameras installed at nearby businesses or homes could have footage of people with their phones in their hands. Dashboard cameras in the vehicles involved in the crash or vehicles nearby when the collision occurred may also have footage of a driver handling their phone or looking down instead of ahead.
Proof of distraction may not be necessary
Frequently, distracted driving results in a motorist doing something unsafe, such as failing to monitor their surroundings or doing a “rolling stop” at an intersection. Those filing insurance claims or injury lawsuits do not always need to prove that distraction was the actual cause of the crash. They may be able to hold the other driver liable simply by establishing their unsafe or illegal actions that caused the collision.
Working with a personal injury attorney often makes it easier for those involved in serious collisions to hold others accountable. Proof establishing who was at fault for a collision is often a key element of a successful post-wreck compensation claim.
