Texting and Driving Truck Accidents in Victorville
No one should text and drive. While there are a few exceptions for safety and emergency uses, it is generally a bad idea. It is an even worse idea for truckers since they are already handling vehicles that are more difficult to maneuver, heavier, and harder to stop. All those factors increase a trucker’s likelihood of a wreck if they are distracted for only a moment.
It can be challenging to prove the cause of texting and driving truck accidents in Victorville. The other party will rarely acknowledge the role their negligence played in the crash. You are unlikely to see them on the phone before a collision. Instead, it is a backward inference process. The type of accident may suggest distraction, leading a proactive truck accident attorney to investigate potential causes of that distraction. In the process, they could subpoena the trucker’s cell phone records. Finally, they could use those records to prove distracted driving and hold the negligent truck driver accountable for your injuries.
Forms of Distracted Driving
There are three subtypes of distracted driving — visual, manual, and cognitive. Visual distractions take your eyes off the road, so you may not see other vehicles, obstructions, or road hazards. Manual distractions take your hands off the wheel, making it more difficult to respond if there is an issue on the road. Cognitive distractions mean that you are not thinking about driving. While your eyes may be on the road and your hands on the wheel, your mind wanders. All three of these distractions can decrease reaction time.
Texting and driving combines all three types of distracted driving. The driver’s eyes leave the road to focus on the phone or portable device. They use their hands to type. Plus, they must engage their brain in something other than driving. This makes texting and driving one of the most dangerous types of distracted driving. It approximately doubles the likelihood of a wreck and is more dangerous than driving while intoxicated. If texting while driving played a role in a Victorville truck accident, a lawyer may be able to help.
Potential Injuries in a Texting & Driving Truck Crash
Texting while driving not only increases the likelihood of an accident, it may also increase the severity of the accident. It all comes down to reaction time. Since texting decreases reaction time, the trucker may not be able to slow down or steer into a safer location. Instead, they may hit the other vehicle at full speed. When that happens, the injuries can be tremendous.
Some common injuries include:
- Broken bones
- Crush injuries
- Traumatic brain injuries
- Damage to internal organs
- Spinal cord and neck injuries
Many of these injuries will take an extended recovery period, requiring time away from work and possibly impacting lifelong earning ability. Of course, many texting and driving truck crashes in Victorville also lead to death.
The nature and extent of the injuries can help determine the available types of damages. Most people are eligible for economic and non-economic damages. Economic damages repay people for direct financial losses—medical bills, lost wages, loss in earning capacity, cost of rehabilitation services, and more. Non-economic damages are for non-financial losses—pain and suffering, emotional trauma, and loss of consortium are all examples.
Possible Roadblocks to Recovery
California is a pure comparative fault state. That means that most people can recover as long as the defendant has some responsibility for the crash, but the recovery is proportionate. However, state law prohibits some people from recovering for non-economic damages.
California’s Proposition 213, The Personal Responsibility Act, and California Civil Code § 3333.3 require people to have insurance to recover non-economic damages in a motor vehicle accident. There are some exceptions, but a person’s insurance status will be essential to their recovery.
Enlist the Help of a Victorville Texting and Driving Truck Accident Attorney
Wrecks involving tractor-trailers always carry a risk of traumatic injuries. Texting and driving increases those risks since they increase the risk of high-speed collisions. When you are injured because a trucker was texting and driving, you may be entitled to a significant recovery. Consult an experienced legal professional to learn more about seeking compensation after texting and driving truck accidents in Victorville.
