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Experienced Fort Lauderdale Distracted Driving Accident Attorneys On Your Side

Distracted driver talks on cell phone and holds coffee
distracted driving

Let a Experienced Auto Accident Law Firm in South Florida Help You with Your Distracted Driving Accident Claim

Distracted driving accounts for a significant number of accidents on a yearly basis that, in many cases, lead to severe injuries or even death.  According to a report conducted by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), distracted driving claimed 3,166 lives in 2017 alone. If you’ve been harmed in a car accident in which the defendant-driver was distracted at the time of the accident (i.e., using their cell phone, eating food, engaged in heated conversation with a passenger, etc.), Florida law may entitle you to compensation. Litigating a distracted driving case involves several unique challenges and opportunities that our Fort Lauderdale distracted driving accident law firm is prepared to handle. Contact our office to discuss your options.

Behaviors Leading to Distracted Driving Accidents in Florida

Risky behaviors leading to a distracted driving accident include:

  • Texting while driving
  • Calling while driving
  • Eating while driving
  • Conversations with passengers in the car
  • Using the car radio

Anytime a driver is in a position where they are not putting their undivided attention on the road, they are presumably distracted and could expose others on the roadway to a serious threat of injury.

Cell Phones and Driver Liability in Florida

In Florida, drivers are prohibited from using their cell phones while operating their vehicles.  As a traffic law, this cell phone prohibition creates an automatic presumption of negligence for those who violate it, thus making it significantly easier for your Fort Lauderdale distracted driving lawyer to establish liability.

To successfully impose liability, you must show that the other driver was using their cell phone (in violation of the law) at the time of the car accident and that such use contributed to your injuries.  It’s not necessary to show that the defendant’s use of their cell phone was “negligent.”

Understanding the Dangers of Texting While Driving

There is no question that texting behind the wheel is extremely dangerous. In the time it takes to read an average text message, a vehicle can travel the length of an entire football stadium at highway speeds. At intersections and in low-speed situations in traffic around Fort Lauderdale, texting drivers can present extreme hazards as well, and innocent drivers and passengers can suffer serious injuries with lifelong implications. Regardless of how important the text was, this behavior is unacceptable on the road and causes serious accidents. After a crash, you need the help of a South Florida texting and driving attorney to recover the compensation you deserve. 

Texting while driving is illegal in Florida, and with good reason. The dangers are significant, and there is simply no good reason for anyone to put other people’s lives at risk unnecessarily. Researchers have found that texting behind the wheel distracts drivers in three different ways:

  • Visual Distraction – When drivers are looking at their phones instead of paying attention to their surroundings, they are significantly more likely to cause serious accidents.
  • Cognitive Distraction – Reading and responding to text messages also interferes with drivers’ ability to concentrate on driving, and it can significantly delay their reaction time even when they are looking at the road.
  • Manual Distraction – Texting by hand (as opposed to using a vehicle’s voice control features) also takes drivers’ hands off of the wheel, and this impairs their ability to control their vehicles and react to unexpected hazards as well.

Combined, these three forms of distraction have been shown to cause impairment similar to the effects of alcohol intoxication. In fact, one frequently-cited study conducted by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) found that texting drivers were six times more likely to cause serious and fatal accidents than drunk drivers.

Evidentiary Concerns for Fort Lauderdale Distracted Driving Accident Attorneys Handling These Types of Cases

If you are injured in a distracted driving case, the defendant may fight aggressively against liability.  In doing so, they can count on the fact that there may not be substantial evidence pointing to the fact that they actually engaged in behavior that qualifies as distracted driving.

For example, if you are attempting to argue that the other driver was using their cell phone while driving, you will want to identify potential indicators of such use, such as login timestamps, video evidence, and phone records that show the defendant was messaging or calling someone at the time of the accident.

Even if you can show that the defendant was driving while distracted, you’ll have to prove that the injuries suffered are causally linked. Just because the driver was distracted does not necessarily mean that they caused the auto accident.  It could be unrelated.

Contact Maus Law Firm for a Free Consultation with a Top Distracted Driving Lawyer

At Maus Law Firm, our team boasts decades of experience working with injured plaintiffs in a variety of disputes, including those that center around distracted driving accidents.

In pursuing such litigation, there are a number of unique challenges and opportunities that plaintiffs may not initially recognize — our skilled Fort Lauderdale auto accident attorneys engage closely with clients at an early stage so as to gain insight into the particularities of the client’s case and execute a winning strategy that will allow for the maximum possible recovery under the circumstances.

Ready to speak to a Fort Lauderdale distracted driving attorney at our firm?  Contact us at 1-855-999-5297 or complete our form to schedule a free and confidential consultation.

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– to prepare your case properly, and to obtain the compensation you deserve. The Attorneys at the Maus Law Firm have tried more than 130 jury trials, and recovered millions of dollars on behalf of their clients. In fact, most of our cases are referred from our former clients on cases in which we served as the lead accident claims lawyer.

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