Delray Beach Distracted Driving Lawyer 

Drivers diverting eyes and ears away from the road cause an increasing number of traffic collisions in Florida and across the nation, some with injury and death. It may be important to contact an experienced car accident attorney to assist you if you are involved in an accident caused by a distracted driver. A Delray Beach distracted driving lawyer can be ready to help those who have been injured by a distracted driver.

What are the Typical Types of Distracted Driving?

A driver can be distracted in many ways, including looking for an address on a building and using navigation systems, spilling a drink, eating, applying make-up, changing radio stations, listening to loud music, reading, and relatively new on the list is operating mobile communication devices to search websites, send and receive email, and tapping out text messages.

The danger in driving distracted is on par with driving while impaired by alcohol.

Negligence Doctrine

Distracted driving is an act of negligence under Florida law. Behaving in a way that a prudent person would behave is required under law. Failing to do so opens a driver to civil financial liability under the state’s negligence doctrine, and if a death occurs criminal law is invoked.

A driver traveling at 40 mph who spills a hot drink and crosses the center divider hitting another car has committed an act of negligence.

To prove negligence, a Delray Beach distracted driving lawyer would have to prove that the defendant owed a duty of care toward the other driver, that the duty of care was breached by diverting attention to the spilled hot drink and away from traffic.

The breach is why the collision occurred, called cause in fact, and the impact caused physical harm, called a proximate or legal cause. From the collision and injuries, the injured party suffered financial loss.

What are the State Texting and Driving Laws?

Texting is becoming more common in causing injury crashes prompting Florida’s public relations effort called Put It Down. The Florida legislature passed a law effective on Oct. 1, 2013, that prohibited using hands to operate electronic devices if the vehicle is moving. However, law enforcement cannot cite a motorist seen using these tools unless the driver has committed another violation of law first. This classifies the device law as a secondary offense, and Florida is one of five states using this method of enforcement.

Should a crash cause injury, the law allows what an officer saw or wrote about the offender using a handheld electronic device to be allowed as evidence.

The punishment in Palm Beach County for a texting citation is a $30 fine for the first violation, considered a non-moving offense, and double that if a second violation occurs within five years of the first.  A Delray Beach distracted driving lawyer can help look into this.

Incidents in Palm Beach County

The occurrences of distracted driving crashes increased nearly 30 percent from 2012 through 2015 in Palm Beach County causing 34 deaths. Just short of 2,200 of these incidents happened in 2015 reports the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles.

Delray Beach Accident Attorneys Offer No-Cost Legal Advice

Learn if a lawsuit to recover losses from the crash can win by taking advantage of the Delray Beach distracted driving lawyer’s free consultation.

The attorney will review the facts of the case and weigh them with the law to determine how strong the case is as well as answering any questions about the law and the legal process. It is not necessary to hire the attorney.

A Delray Beach distracted driving lawyer from Kogan & DiSalvo will begin the case without charging attorney fees. Personal injury lawyers are not paid if the case is lost, and if the lawsuit produces monetary damages the attorney is paid a small percentage from the damages won at trial or in a settlement.