Brooklyn Distracted Driving Accident Lawyer
Were you injured by a distracted driver in Brooklyn, NY? A Brooklyn distracted driving accident lawyer at Rosenbaum Meier Personal Injury Lawyers can investigate the car accident, gather evidence of distraction, and help you pursue compensation from the responsible party. Call (718) 550-3601 to set up a free consultation.
Distracted driving can involve texting, using a phone, adjusting navigation, eating, or anything else that takes a driver’s attention away from the road. Even a few seconds of inattention can cause a serious collision in Brooklyn’s busy streets and intersections.
How Can Rosenbaum Meier Personal Injury Lawyers Help After a Distracted Driving Crash in Brooklyn, NY?
If a distracted driver causes your car crash in Brooklyn, NY, you need a strong, experienced legal team to help prove their negligence and recover compensation for your losses.
When you hire us, our Brooklyn personal injury attorneys can:
- Obtain police reports and crash records
- Interview witnesses
- Review photographs and surveillance footage
- Seek relevant cell phone records when legally available
- Examine vehicle and electronic data
- Identify all potentially liable parties
- Document your injuries and financial losses
- Negotiate with insurance companies
- Prepare your case for trial when necessary
The legal team at Rosenbaum Meier Personal Injury Lawyers has more than 40 years of experience and has recovered tens of millions of dollars for injured clients.
Evidence of distraction may disappear quickly. Starting an investigation soon after the accident can help preserve information about what the other driver was doing before the collision. Call our Brooklyn car accident lawyers today to schedule a free consultation.
What Is Distracted Driving?
Distracted driving is any activity that takes a motorist’s attention away from safely operating a vehicle. Distractions are often grouped into visual, manual, and cognitive categories.
Examples include:
- Texting or reading messages
- Making handheld phone calls
- Looking at social media
- Entering information into a GPS
- Taking photos or videos
- Eating or drinking
- Adjusting music or other controls
- Reaching for an object
- Talking with passengers
- Looking at something outside the vehicle
Some activities create more than one type of distraction at the same time. Texting, for example, can take a driver’s eyes off the road, hands off the wheel, and attention away from surrounding traffic.
What Does New York Law Say About Cell Phone Use While Driving?
New York law generally prohibits drivers from using handheld mobile phones while a vehicle is moving. State law also prohibits the use of portable electronic devices for activities such as texting, emailing, browsing the internet, viewing images, or accessing other electronic data while driving.
There are limited exceptions, including certain emergency communications and authorized emergency personnel performing official duties. Hands-free calling is usually treated differently from holding a phone during a call.
A traffic violation can be important evidence in an injury claim, but receiving a ticket does not automatically establish civil liability. The facts of the crash still matter.
How Can I Prove the Other Driver Was Distracted?
Proving distraction often requires combining several forms of evidence. A driver may deny using a phone, so physical and electronic records can become important.
Useful evidence may include:
- Witness statements
- Surveillance or traffic-camera footage
- Dashcam recordings
- Cell phone records
- Text message or call timestamps
- Social media activity
- Police observations
- Statements made by the driver
Failing to brake, drifting between lanes, or running a traffic signal may support other evidence that the motorist was not paying attention.
Who Can Be Liable for a Distracted Driving Accident?
The distracted driver is often the primary person responsible for the crash. However, additional parties may be liable depending on the circumstances.
An employer could potentially be responsible when an employee causes an accident while performing work duties. A vehicle owner may also face liability in some situations under New York law.
Commercial driving cases can raise additional issues. Employers and motor carriers may have rules governing phone use, dispatch systems, and other electronic devices used by drivers.
What Compensation Can I Recover After a Distracted Driving Accident?
Compensation depends on the injuries, financial losses, insurance coverage, and other facts of the crash. New York’s no-fault insurance system typically provides certain benefits for basic economic losses regardless of who caused the accident.
If you qualify to pursue additional damages against an at-fault driver, compensation may cover:
- Medical expenses
- Future treatment and rehabilitation
- Lost wages
- Reduced earning ability
- Pain and suffering
- Emotional distress
- Disability
- Loss of enjoyment of life
New York usually requires an injured person to meet the state’s serious injury threshold before recovering pain and suffering damages from another driver in a covered motor vehicle accident.
How Long Do I Have to File a Distracted Driving Accident Lawsuit in New York?
New York generally gives injured people three years from the date of a car accident to file a personal injury lawsuit based on negligence. However, exceptions can shorten or change the deadline.
Claims involving New York City or another government entity may have much shorter notice requirements. Other deadlines can also apply depending on the parties and the type of claim involved.
Contact a Brooklyn Distracted Driving Accident Attorney at Rosenbaum Meier Personal Injury Lawyers for Help
A distracted driving crash can leave you facing medical expenses, lost income, pain, and uncertainty about what happened. Evidence such as phone records, video footage, witness statements, and vehicle data may help establish whether distraction caused the collision.
A Brooklyn distracted driving accident attorney at Rosenbaum Meier Personal Injury Lawyers can investigate your accident, identify the responsible parties, and explain your legal options. Contact us today to schedule a free consultation.