Las Vegas Distracted Driving Lawyer

Distracted driving is any activity that diverts attention away from driving.

Distracted driving crashes are the leading cause of fatal accidents, making them a significant concern.

Types of Distracted Driving

Distracted driving can be categorized into three main types which are:

• Visual Distractions: Visual distractions involve any activity in which you take your eyes off the road, such as looking at your phone, GPS, or something outside the vehicle.
• Manual Distractions: A manual distraction is any activity that requires you to take your hands off the steering wheel. Common manual distractions are eating, adjusting the radio, or reaching for something inside the car. A manual distraction can result in an extremely serious accident due to the driver not having their hands on the wheel.
• Cognitive Distractions: A cognitive distraction involves taking your mind off of driving. Cognitive distractions include daydreaming, engaging in conversations with passengers, or being in emotional distress while driving.

Distracted drivers are among all demographics; however, the most serious offenders of distracted driving crashes tend to be teen and young adult drivers with a lack of experience and tech-savvy behavior; this demographic is highly prone to distracted driving.

Knowing what could be considered a distraction while driving is key to preventing yourself from ending up in a distracted driving crash.

Four common distractions drivers fall victim to are:

• Mobile Phones: One of the most common driving distractions is the cell phone; whether it's sending a text message, email, or scrolling on social media, these devices are both manual and visual distractions, which has resulted in numerous distracted driving accidents.
• Eating or Drinking: Eating or drinking while driving is a common manual distraction. Engaging in actions such as trying to unwrap food or sip beverages could easily result in a distracted driving accident.
• In-Car Technologies: Looking at in-car tech, such as GPS or radio, is a visual distraction that has resulted in dozens of rear-end car accidents.
• Passengers: Engaging in conversations with passengers can be a cognitive and visual distraction, which could result in a traffic accident.

Proving liability is crucial to ensuring that the distracted driver is held liable and that you obtain fair compensation.

In order to prove liability in a distracted driving car accident, you must:

• Gather Evidence: We highly recommend you hire a law firm to handle this part, as evidence collection may require interviewing witnesses, reviewing surveillance footage, analyzing phone records, and obtaining documents such as medical records and police reports
• Demonstrating Negligence: Following evidence collection, you must then prove the distracted driver's negligence. This will include proving duty of care, breach of duty, causation, and damages. To prove those elements, your personal injury lawyer may need to utilize medical records, surveillance footage, and accident reconstruction.
• Use Expert Testimony: In a serious accident, your attorney may utilize testimony from a doctor or accident reconstruction specialist in order to prove liability and damages.

Proving liability in distracted driver car accidents can be a complex process, and without the right personal injury law firm, you may lose your ability to recover compensation.

If you suffered injuries or damages in a distracted driving auto accident, you may be entitled to recover compensation through a personal injury claim.

However, you must understand the types of damages you can recover if you intend to maximize your final settlement.

Economic Damages

Economic damages or special damages are damages that a monetary amount can quantify.

Economic damages may include:

• Medical Expenses: If you suffered injuries in the car crash, you can seek compensation for all past and future medical expenses, which may include hospital stays, surgeries, doctor visits, prescription medications, physical therapy, and any other medical expenses.
• Lost Earnings: If the injuries caused you to miss work or hindered your ability to work, you can seek compensation for all past and future lost earnings in a personal injury claim.
• Property Damage: If the accident caused damage to your vehicle or other personal property, you may recover compensation for the repair or replacement of your property.

Non-Economic Damages

Non-economic damages or general damages are damages that cannot be quantified in a monetary amount; examples of non-economic damages are:

• Pain and Suffering: The physical pain and discomfort the injuries caused or are causing can be sought for in a distracted driving claim.
• Emotional Distress: If the car accident caused psychological damages such as anxiety, depression, or trauma, you may recover compensation for the mental damages.
• Loss of Enjoyment of Life: In car accident cases, if the injuries sustained affect your ability to enjoy activities or hobbies, you can seek compensation for the loss of enjoyment of life.
• Loss of Consortium: In car accidents, if the car accident victim's relationship with their spouse is negatively affected, they may pursue compensation for the loss of consortium.

Punitive Damages

In some cases, you may receive punitive damages, which are not meant to compensate you for any particular loss but are meant to punish the distracted driver for their part in the distracted driving car accident.

Punitive damages are not given by the insurance companies but instead by the court through a judge or jury.

Nevada follows a modified comparative negligence rule, which means that each driver involved in a distracted driver accident can share fault for the accident.

Under this modified comparative negligence rule, a party can seek compensation as long as their fault in the distracted driver accident does not exceed 50%.