The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) indicates that more than 1,000 people are injured every day in accidents involving distracted drivers. Crashes caused by distracted drivers can leave victims with extremely serious injuries, including broken bones, traumatic brain injuries, severe soft tissue injuries, and even spinal cord injuries.
In many cases, those injured in distracted driving car accidents in Waterford miss weeks or months of work, incur substantial medical bills, and experience significant physical and emotional pain and suffering. Fortunately, in many cases, victims can receive compensation for these and other losses under Connecticut law. To learn whether you have a case, call a car accident attorney from Polito & Harrington for a free consultation today.
The CDC breaks down driver distractions into three main categories. These are as follows:
Some distractions can combine two or even all three of these categories of distraction, making them more dangerous than others. For example, when drivers text on a smartphone, they need to think about their texts, manipulate the devices with their hands, and look at their phones at the same time. According to the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute (VTTI), texting doubles the chances that a driver will be involved in a crash or a near-crash incident.
While texting and other smart phone use is certainly a dangerous type of driver distraction and one that has garnered significant attention from the media and state legislatures, a multitude of other things can distract drivers. Common ones include:
Grooming | Talking to passengers |
Applying makeup | Looking at scenery |
Eating | Looking for items in the car |
Drinking | Adjusting the radio |
Reading | Reading a map |
Even if there was no specific law against what a driver was doing at the time of a Waterford accident, distracted driving often leads to traffic violations and can itself usually be considered a form of negligence. As a result, people hurt by distracted drivers are usually able to obtain compensation for their injuries and other losses.
Every licensed driver who operates a motor vehicle on public roads assumes a duty of care that applies from the moment they start their engines to the moment they shut them off. Drivers must obey traffic laws and watch out for other people and vehicles around them at all times.
Driving while distracted violates those requirements and can serve as valid grounds for a lawsuit if it directly leads to a wreck. However, proving to a civil court or insurance company that someone else was driving distracted and caused a Waterford car crash could require substantial evidence from multiple sources, such as:
Support from our legal counsel could be crucial to finding relevant information and effectively incorporating it into a lawsuit or settlement demand.
A practiced attorney could play a key role in proving that an individual injured by a distracted driver in a Waterford vehicle accident was not at fault for causing the incident through their irresponsible behavior. Otherwise, according to Connecticut General Statutes § 52-572h, a court could assign the injured person a percentage of comparative fault for their injuries and, based on that percentage, either reduce the total amount of compensation available to them or dismiss their case altogether.
Our dedicated legal professionals could also help file the claim within the deadline set by C.G.S. § 52-584. Under this statute of limitations, virtually everyone who waits longer than two years to file suit after being injured through someone else’s misconduct will be time-barred from ever seeking civil restitution for that incident.
Distracted driving car accidents in Waterford typically entitle victims to compensation under Connecticut law. At Polito & Harrington, we are committed to helping our clients obtain compensation for all of their losses, including their medical expenses, lost income, loss of quality of life, and physical and emotional pain and suffering. To schedule a free case evaluation with one of our lawyers, call our office today at (860) 447-3300 or send us an email through our online contact form.
We are committed to provide personalized attention to each and every client’s case – no matter how large or small– because that is each client’s only case. We are proud of our firm’s reputation of combining integrity and compassion with an unflinching dedication to getting the right result. We will do what we say.