Kitchener Texting While Driving Lawyer

Using a handheld electronic device like a cellphone while operating a vehicle can cause serious accidents. When drivers take their eyes off of the road, even for a split second, sudden changes in traffic conditions can quickly result in a collision. In the fleeting moment it takes for a driver to glance at a text message, lives can be lost, and severe injuries can be sustained. Distracted drivers can cause accidents resulting in catastrophic injuries, such as:

• Head trauma
• Traumatic brain injury
• Spinal cord injuries
• Paralysis
• Loss of a limb

These injuries have the potential to impact a victim’s physical, mental, and financial wellbeing. If you’ve been seriously injured in a car accident caused by a distracted driver, a Kitchener car accident lawyer may be able to help you recover damages for:

• Medical expenses
• Property damage
• Pain and suffering
• Lost income

In order to be eligible to collect accident benefits, injured victims in Ontario are required to file their insurance claims within seven days of their accidents. In cases where victims have been immobilized by their injuries, or have to endure lengthy periods of rehabilitation, a Kitchener texting while driving lawyer may be able to help their clients meet important insurance deadlines and filing requirements.

If the driver responsible for your accident was texting while operating their vehicle, a car accident lawyer may be able to help you recover other damages incurred as a result of your injuries.

Texting and Driving Accidents

In the province of Ontario, it is illegal to use a handheld electronic device while operating a motor vehicle. Texting while driving increases the risk of causing an accident. In fact, even using hands-free, voice-operated smartphone features while driving can steal a driver’s attention from the road. A driver’s failure to focus on safety while operating their vehicle can be considered negligence.

Car accidents can happen in seconds. Drivers who allow themselves to be distracted by their cell phones, even for a brief moment, make themselves vulnerable to otherwise avoidable, potential fatal collisions.

Following an accident, seeking immediate medical care can be crucial. The effects of shock may reduce or delay the severity of pain stemming from injuries sustained in an accident. That being the case, victims who seek medical attention right away, even if they are not immediately suffering from any pain, may be able to properly assess their conditions before potentially complicating their recoveries.

When law enforcement officers are dispatched to the scene of an accident, they might issue citations to the motorist responsible for the accident, if they violated any traffic laws, like texting while driving. These responding officers may question any eyewitnesses to the collision, who may be able to confirm if the responsible driver was distracted by their phone when the accident occurred.

Establishing Fault in a Texting While Driving Accident

Even if the motorist responsible for causing an accident was texting while driving, other parties involved in the accident may be found partially at fault for the collision. Insurance companies use R.R.O. 1990, Reg. 668: Fault Determination Rules to determine the degree to which each driver involved in an accident was responsible for the collision. If an insurance company determines that an accident victim was partially at fault for the collision, the compensatory damages available to them may be reduced.

If you were the victim of an accident caused by a driver who was using their cell phone when they should have been focused on the road, and your insurance company determined that you were partially responsible for your accident, a Kitchener texting while driving lawyer may be able to help you appeal the company’s decision. A car accident lawyer may also be able to help negotiate a new settlement on your behalf.

Recovering Damages for Catastrophic Injuries

Sustaining catastrophic injuries as the result of an accident caused by a negligent driver can impact a victim’s long-term health, independence, and quality of life. Severe injuries from accidents may require long periods of hospitalization, rehabilitation, and in-home nursing services.

If the driver responsible for your collision violated any traffic laws, like texting while driving, a Kitchener car accident lawyer may be able to help you pursue damages for unreimbursed financial losses and pain and suffering caused by your permanent injuries.

In these cases, a texting while driving accident lawyer may be able to help injured victims who cannot return to work by seeking damages for lost wages, and loss of future earnings. Victims with catastrophic injuries may suffer mental and emotional anguish as a result of a distracted driver’s negligence. If so, a Kitchener texting while driving accident lawyer might also be able to help them recover damages for pain and suffering, loss of enjoyment of life, and other damages, if they qualify.

Contact Preszler Injury Lawyers Today

A negligent driver’s decision to use their phone when they should be focused on the road can cause another individual to sustain injuries that may impact the rest of their lives. If you’ve been injured because another motorist was texting while driving, a Kitchener car accident lawyer may be able to offer useful legal assistance and advice. Call Preszler Injury Lawyers today for a free, initial consultation about your legal options.