Fort Lauderdale Distracted Driving Accident Lawyer

Thousands of Annual Distracted Driving Crashes in Fort Lauderdale, Florida

To give you a sense of how common distracted driver accidents are around Fort Lauderdale, Florida, know that there are thousands of these incidents every year, the chances are you or a loved one has already been affected by this type of accident.

According to the Florida Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles (FLHSMV), there were 53,596 distracted driver accidents in Florida in 2022. That’s an average of 1,116 of these incidents every single week.

What’s more, distracted driver crashes resulted in 2,574 serious injuries and 268 fatalities, demonstrating the grave nature of this type of incident.

It’s also worth knowing about the large numbers of younger people involved in distracted driver accidents, almost 40% of these crashes involved drivers under 30 years of age. Here in Florida, all types of crashes are highest in drivers aged 20 to 24.

This may be explained by considering that teens and young people don’t have experience driving safely and may be distracted easily by sending text messages or other cell phone activity or by other drivers in the car.

This can have serious implications for other folks on the road, who may be driving responsibly and within the law but have the misfortune of crossing paths with distracted drivers.

Once you’ve been hit by a distracted driver, it’s essential to seek advice from an experienced distracted driver accident lawyer in Fort Lauderdale to ensure you get the compensation you deserve for suffering as a result of your accident.

What Are Some Common Types of Distracted Driving in Fort Lauderdale, Florida?

Distracted driving refers to any activity that takes a driver’s eyes, hands, or attention away from the task of driving.

There are three main categories of distracted driving, as follows:

• Visual: When the driver looks away from the road, for example, to look at an accident
• Manual: When the driver takes their hands away from the wheel, for example, to eat, drink, smoke, vape, apply makeup, do their hair, or adjust a radio or navigation system
• Cognitive: When the driver is thinking about something other than driving, for example, when they’re deep in conversation with a passenger.

One of the most dangerous activities that encompasses all three of these categories is texting. Even looking away for just a few seconds to compose a text can result in a serious accident due to a lack of focus and awareness of a driver’s surroundings.

Texting is considered one of the most dangerous forms of distracted driving since it involves becoming distracted by all of the above. Also, it tends to involve younger drivers who are more likely to use a cell phone while behind the wheel.

Be reassured that our Fort Lauderdale distracted driver accident attorneys understand the implications of distracted driving and can guide you through the process of getting the compensation that’s due to you if you’ve been affected by one of these types of accidents.

The Cost of Distracted Driver Accidents in Fort Lauderdale, Florida

Here at The Bald Injury Lawyers, our legal team sees the cost of distracted driver accidents on a regular basis in a range of different types of accidents:

• Car accidents: Texting while driving can result in collisions with other cars, resulting in minor to serious injuries or even death, as well as damage to the vehicle that has been hit.
• Motorcycle accidents: Texting while riding a motorcycle is highly risky, of course. But know that driving a motor vehicle while driving and hitting a motorcycle can also result in serious injuries for the motorcyclist. Motorcyclists are more vulnerable on the roads since their vehicles are less stable and are less visible too, so these drivers are at risk of suffering serious injuries if they get hit by a driver distracted by texting.
• Truck accidents: Truck drivers may be distracted by their cell phones while on long journeys as they update loved ones or employers of their location. They may also be distracted by the navigation devices that they need to use to find their way to their destination.
• Pedestrian accidents: Pedestrians are vulnerable to injury by distracted drivers. Although texting while driving may only take a driver’s eyes off the road for a few seconds, this is more than enough time to hit an unseen pedestrian, causing serious injuries.
• Drunk or intoxicated accidents: Just stepping into a car while drunk or intoxicated by drugs is a major hazard in itself. An inflated sense of confidence and distorted reality mean that a drunk or intoxicated driver may see nothing wrong with texting as well, which is highly likely to result in a collision, causing damage to property and personal injury.
• Bicycle accidents: Just like drivers of motorized vehicles, cyclists should not be texting while they are riding. The other side of the coin is that if hit by a distracted driver, cyclists are likely to suffer serious injuries since they have little protection around them as they would in a vehicle.
• Rideshare accidents: Rideshare drivers may be distracted by an array of factors, including chatting with their passenger or texting their workplace to let them know their estimated arrival time. Either way, this can result in serious injury and damage to others in the event of a collision. Uber and other ride-hailing drivers such as Lyft, can easily get distracted by texting to accept work or update passengers on their arrival time. Sadly, this can result in Uber and Lyft car accidents affecting their own passengers and drivers, and even passengers in other cars too.

The costs of any of these types of accidents can be devastating and far-reaching, from causing death to other drivers, passengers, or pedestrians to serious life-changing injuries or even minor injuries and shock.

What’s more, if you’ve been injured in a distracted driving accident, you may have to take time off work, pay for medical and therapy costs not covered by your insurance, deal with damage to your car or other property, and process feelings of distress and anxiety as a direct result of the accident.

That’s exactly why you need an experienced Fort Lauderdale distracted driver accident lawyer, such as one of the attorneys at The Bald Injury Lawyers, to help you deal with the fallout of being hit by one of these drivers.

Are There Laws Against Distracted Driving in Fort Lauderdale, Florida?

There are very clear laws applicable in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, against distracted driving, specifically on texting while driving, which you can read about on the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) website.

In summary, the law known as the “Florida Ban on Texting While Driving Law” says that a person may not drive while typing into a device such as a cell phone or while sending or reading text messages, emails, or other types of digital messages.

There are exceptions to this law, for example, for drivers of emergency vehicles or for people reporting crimes to the authorities.

However, the law is set out clearly and says that anyone violating this law is committing a traffic offense.

Your distracted driver accident attorney in Fort Lauderdale will be able to advise you on how the law works in your particular case.

To raise awareness of the dangers of driving while texting, the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles launched the “Put It Down” campaign in 2022. Its key message encourages drivers to put their cell phones down and instead focus on driving without distraction.

The campaign reminds drivers of the laws around distracted driving and the dangers of driving while texting.

It also offers safety tips for driving, such as:

• Pulling over or parking your car to send or receive text messages
• Designating a passenger as your “texter” so they can send or receive messages on your behalf
• Ignoring social media notifications while driving
• Activating your phone’s “Do Not Disturb” service while driving or putting your phone out of reach, earshot, and sight.

How Our Accident Attorneys Prove the Other Driver Was Distracted

If you’ve been affected by this type of accident, understand that our distracted driving accident lawyers in Fort Lauderdale know exactly what to do to prove the other driver was indeed distracted.

Our process to get you the compensation you deserve involves investigating the facts, gathering evidence to support your case, and filing a claim with the other party’s insurance company.

The evidence we collect will depend on the type of distraction and incident and can include:

• The police report: This will contain vital facts about the accident, including when and where it took place. It will also include information about the other driver and possibly photographs of evidence of distraction, such as an open social media app or food wrappers littering the vehicle.
• Witness statements: These may include essential pieces of evidence, such as seeing the other driver holding a cell phone moments before the crash. Be sure to reach out to eyewitnesses at the scene of your accident and get their contact details so you can collect a statement later if necessary.
• Cell phone records: These records can evidence many aspects of cell phone usage in the minutes leading up to the accident, for example, making or receiving calls, text messages, or photos.
• Available videos: These can include footage from a dashboard camera, cell phone, or surveillance cameras in the vicinity of your accident, which can show the other driver engaging in distracted behavior just before or at the time of the crash.
• Expert testimony: This may involve a crash expert giving their opinion on what the other driver did, indicating failure in duty of care to drive responsibly and without distraction.
• Crash reconstruction services: These services may use evidence from the scene, such as tire marks, to determine what happened and within what timeframe.
• Admission of guilt from the other driver: This may be evidenced in what the other driver says to the attending police officer or witnesses and included in their report or statement.

Our Fort Lauderdale distracted driver accident attorneys are dedicated to getting you the result you want, so we’ll sift through all these types of evidence to build a robust case against the driver who caused you damage, injury, or distress.

Knowledgeable Fort Lauderdale Car Accident Attorneys

If you’ve been involved in an accident of the nature we’ve described here, reach out to the experienced team of Fort Lauderdale distracted driver accident lawyers at our law firm.

With a wealth of experience in these and many other types of accidents, you can rely on us to guide and support you through the process of claiming against a distracted driver and getting the compensation you deserve. Discover how we can help you after an accident by contacting us today.

FAQs

How do you prove the other driver was distracted?

With evidence such as the police report, witness statements, video footage and, when the facts support it, the driver’s phone records. We move quickly to preserve this evidence before it is lost.

Can I sue a distracted driver for pain and suffering?

Florida’s no-fault law limits lawsuits for pain and suffering after car crashes. You can pursue those damages against the at-fault driver if the crash caused (1) significant and permanent loss of an important bodily function, (2) a permanent injury within a reasonable degree of medical probability, (3) significant and permanent scarring or disfigurement, or (4) death (Fla. Stat. § 627.737(2)).

How long do I have to file a lawsuit after a distracted driving crash?

For injuries caused by negligence on or after March 24, 2023, Florida generally allows two years from the date of the accident to file a lawsuit (Fla. Stat. § 95.11(5)(a)). Wrongful death claims must be filed within two years of the date of death. Some claims have different deadlines, so talk to a lawyer as soon as possible.

What if the insurer says I was partly at fault?

Florida follows a modified comparative negligence rule (Fla. Stat. § 768.81(6)). If you are 50 percent or less at fault, you can recover damages reduced by your share of fault. If you are more than 50 percent at fault, you cannot recover. For example, if you are 30 percent at fault on a $100,000 claim, you recover $70,000.