Concord Texting & Driving Accident Lawyer

Texting while driving is a very reckless thing to do. Taking your attention off the road even for a second to read a text message distracts the driver to the extent that they often cannot react to dangerous situations requiring immediate action. Unfortunately, this leads to serious accidents that result in serious physical injuries, mental anguish, and economic losses.

If you have suffered an injury in an auto accident caused by a person who was texting while driving, you may have a powerful claim for compensation. Our Concord texting and driving accident lawyers can help you recover compensation for your injuries and losses. Contact our legal team today to schedule a free consultation and case evaluation.

What Are the Texting and Driving Laws in North Carolina?

In North Carolina, drivers below age 18 are generally prohibited from talking on a cell phone while driving. The only exception to this rule is when they are having phone conversations with emergency responders, parents, legal guardians or spouses.

Adults are allowed to talk on a cell phone while behind the wheel. The only exception to this rule is school bus drivers who are prohibited from using cell phones while operating a school bus whether in motion or while stopped, except when communicating in an emergency.

North Carolina law, however, prohibits all drivers, regardless of their age, from using cell phones to send or read text messages while driving. Keep in mind that North Carolina is a “primary law” state, which means that police are allowed to stop drivers that are found violating the aforementioned law and ticket them.

It’s worth noting that there are certain exceptions to the ban on texting and driving. It won’t apply in any of the following situations:

• The driver is lawfully stopped or parked
• The driver is using voice-operated technology for texting
• The technology being used is a factory-installed or after-purchased GPS
• The person is a firefighter, police officer, or ambulance driver texting while they are undertaking their official duties.

How Does Texting Affect Your Driving?

Texting while driving is considered both a cognitive and visual distraction. Since the driver’s eyes are off the road, texting while driving can have serious and severe consequences. It puts your passengers, other drivers, and their passengers as well as pedestrians at risk of injury or death. It isn’t just the driver’s eyes that are off the road, the driver’s attention to the road is disturbed.

Texting while driving is actually considered to be far more dangerous than drunk driving, since texting is estimated to cause about 1.6 million crashes while injuring more than 300,000 people each year. The NHTSA considers texting while driving the most alarming type of distraction since it requires the driver’s cognitive, manual, and visual attention.

How Can You Prove the Other Driver Caused an Accident Due to Texting While Driving?

If you’re involved in an accident with a distracted driver and want to pursue a claim for your injuries and losses, you will be required to prove that the at-fault driver was actually texting. There are several ways you and our experienced Concord texting and driving accident lawyers can obtain information about the other driver’s possible distracted driving.

Here are some of the ways to prove the at-fault driver was texting while driving:

1. Admission

The driver may have admitted to you or a police officer that they were texting at the time of the accident. If the driver later denies it, they can be pressed to tell the truth. A deposition is an official hearing where the individual being questioned is sworn to tell the truth. If they lie, they can be charged with perjury. Furthermore, you and the officer could testify about what they said previously.

2. Witness Testimony

Talking to eyewitnesses is another way to prove the at-fault driver was texting while driving. Eyewitnesses are the bystanders at the accident scene, other drivers, or passengers in the same vehicle as the at-fault driver. Anyone in the area may have seen the at-fault driver looking down or taking actions that appeared to be texting.

3. Security Cameras

Security cameras are seemingly everywhere nowadays and you can use this to your advantage. People texting and driving often get into accidents at intersections where security cameras are often located. Video footage of the moments immediately preceding the crash can be used to prove fault by showing that the driver was focusing on their phone and not the road.

4. Police Records

The at-fault driver may have been ticketed if the officer believed that they were texting and driving. The at-fault driver may have either admitted the charge by paying it or disputing the ticket. Fortunately, all of it will be public record that you can use to support your case. It can be used as evidence in a civil lawsuit about the accident.

5. Accident Reconstruction

Accident reconstruction experts are often hired in car accident cases to gather facts about how and where the vehicles traveled before the accident. They reconstruct the accident to know why it happened and who is to blame. Given the circumstances of the accident, the expert may conclude that the driver was distracted just prior to impact. Other evidence may show that texting caused the distraction/

6. Cell Phone Records

Our Concord texting and driving accident lawyer could also ask the at-fault driver’s cell phone service provider for records regarding texts at and before the crash. If there’s evidence that texts were being exchanged while the individual was driving, particularly if one was cut short when the accident occurred, it would be solid evidence supporting your case.

Why Do I Need a Lawyer?

If you have been injured in an accident caused by a driver that was texting while driving, you should talk to our experienced Concord texting and driving lawyers to understand your legal rights to seek compensation for your injuries.

Our legal team can help you by providing aggressive legal representation as well as guidance throughout the entire process. You can always count on us to help you determine the most suitable course of action during this challenging time.

Our lawyers are committed to holding negligent drivers that text while driving fully accountable for all the harm they cause and have the resources needed to obtain the evidence needed to prove that the other driver was texting while driving, such as cell phone records or traffic cam footage.

Finally, we will handle all communication with lawyers from the opposing side and negotiate a fair settlement with insurance companies along with other parties involved in the accident to ensure that you are adequately compensated for your injuries, damages, and losses.

How Much Compensation Can I Expect to Receive?

Unfortunately, it isn’t possible to give an exact figure for any type of lawsuit. Every car accident case is unique and should be evaluated individually. Still, there are certain factors that are likely to affect the amount of compensation you are eligible to receive, which include:

– The likelihood of making a complete recovery

– Severity and types of injuries

– The effect of the accident on various aspects of the victim’s life

– Physical scarring and disfigurement caused by the accident

– The financial situation of the victim before and after the accident.

How Much Will a Lawyer Cost?

The primary concern for our law firm is ensuring that you get what you’re rightly owed by the at-fault party. We offer a free initial case review to listen to your claim and determine whether it’s worth pursuing. If it’s worth pursuing we work on a contingency fee basis.

A contingency fee agreement means that you won’t have to pay us anything unless we obtain a settlement either in or out of court. The agreement ensures that we work hard for your case and that you don’t have additional out-of-pocket expenses during this particularly stressful time.

How Long Do I Have to File a Claim in North Carolina?

If you or a loved one has been injured in a texting while driving accident in North Carolina, you should know that you have a limited amount of time to file a claim. North Carolina law requires that a lawsuit be initiated within 3 years of the accident happening.

While 3 years might sound like a lot of time, it’s worth noting that the claims process isn’t quick. Furthermore, you should always take action as soon as possible, while the evidence and documentation are still fresh and easier to obtain.

Contact Our Experienced Concord Texting and Driving Accident Lawyers!

Our Concord texting and driving lawyers have handled hundreds of other similar cases and can help with your pursuit for justice. Texting while driving accidents are completely avoidable and negligent parties should be held accountable for their actions.

If you’re seeking damages for a texting and driving accident in Concord, then our legal team is ready to lend a hand. We can guide you through filing a liability claim, and in case your claim fails to settle, we can represent you in court.

We proudly serve victims throughout Concord and the rest of North Carolina from our convenient office location. Contact us today either via phone or online to set up your free no-obligation consultation and case evaluation.