What You Should Know About Distracted Driving

Distracted driving was a major factor in vehicle accidents that resulted in nearly 21,000 injuries and 137 deaths in the state of Oregon between 2014 and 2018. 

Oregon has some of the toughest laws in the nation when it comes to criminal penalties for distracted driving, but when it comes to compensation for accident-related injuries, you'll need to file a personal injury lawsuit in civil court to recover damages if what the driver's insurance company offers you as a settlement is too low. Learn more about distracted driving and personal injury compensation in this guide.

Types of Distracted Driving

Many people immediately think of texting when it comes to distracted driving. Texting while driving certainly qualifies, but distracted driving comes in many forms that fall under one or more categories.

Manual

Manual distracted driving occurs when a driver removes their hands from the wheel. Cell phone use falls under the manual category. Other examples include eating and reaching for a dropped item in the car.

Visual

The visual distracted driving category covers anything that results in the driver taking their eyes off the road. Electronic usage can fall into this category as well as manual. 

Cognitive

Many drivers have experienced a moment when they realize that they've driven somewhere and don't actually remember getting there - they realize they were on autopilot. This form of distracted driving falls into the cognitive category, and it happens when the driver's mind wanders and they lose focus on driving.

Fault in Distracted Driving Accidents

In any accident that results in at least one injured person, one of the primary questions is who was at fault for the accident. To show negligence in most personal injury cases, the injured party has to prove that the other party owed the injured person a duty of care and that the other party's conduct violated that duty. 

In distracted driving cases in Oregon, an injured person can use the doctrine of negligence per se to prove the distracted driver's negligence. Under negligence per se, a person's actions or inaction qualify as negligence if they broke a law put into place to protect other members of the public. 

Distracted driving is illegal in Oregon, and personal injury plaintiffs can show the distracted driver's negligence if they can prove the driver violated a distracted driving law since these laws were put into place to protect others.

Proof of Distracted Driving

The most difficult part of many personal injury cases centered on a distracted driver's conduct is proving the driver was distracted at the time the accident occurred.

Accidents that involve cell phone use can be fairly easy to prove if the person was on a phone call or sent a text when the accident happened, since those things will show in phone records that can be subpoenaed from the defendant's phone company.

If available, video surveillance footage could show a driver with their hands off the wheel or leaning down under the dash to retrieve something. Police reports from the accident scene are extremely helpful, as are depositions of the driver and any other witnesses.

Possible Damages

The main damages most personal injury plaintiffs seek are damages to cover their medical expenses related to their injury and lost wages. In some cases, injured victims are awarded additional non-economic damages for pain and suffering.

Though rare, some injured accident victims can also get punitive damages. Unlike other types of damages, punitive damages aren't meant to compensate the injured person for anything - they're meant to punish the defendant for particularly heinous conduct.

Many elements go into preparing a successful personal injury case against a distracted driver, so it's best to consult with an experienced personal injury attorney to help you navigate the legal system and assemble your case with the most convincing evidence possible.

Most personal injury attorneys don't collect money for their services up front. The attorney gets paid a portion of the damages the court awards you if you win your case.

Walsh & Associates, PC, represents personal injury clients in Keizer, Oregon, and surrounding areas. Contact us today if you've been injured in a vehicle accident. We can help you get the compensation you deserve.