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Diverting your attention from the road for a few seconds can have life-altering consequences for another person. If you were hurt because a driver failed to pay attention, a Seminole distracted driving accident lawyer can review your legal rights and help you understand if you may have a distracted driving accident claim.
Texting, glancing at a GPS system, or anything else that takes your eyes off the road ahead increases your chances of being involved in a serious accident. Streets like Park Boulevard, Seminole Boulevard, Starkey Road, and US Highway 19 have thousands of cars pass through every day, presenting multiple opportunities for preventable accidents.
Ronald Bone opened his practice in 1997, focusing his practice on catastrophic injury and wrongful death cases. With over 30 years of combined trial experience, attorney Bone limits his case intake to provide focused representation to his clients throughout the entire process.
Bone is AV rated by Martindale-Hubbell as a Client Champion Silver Award recipient, and often receives referrals for complex litigation from other lawyers seeking qualified trial counsel. However, awards and recognition are not guarantees of future results. Selection criteria vary by organization.
Ronald’s verdicts include an $8.5 million verdict for a rear-end collision requiring jaw reconstruction, a $6 million settlement paid in a traumatic brain injury case with only $10,000 of insurance, and a $2.4 million wrongful death verdict involving a motorcycle. Keep in mind that past results do not guarantee a similar outcome. Every case is different and must be evaluated on its own merits.
Bone also passed a claim bill through the Florida Legislature. This is very rare for anyone to accomplish and shows his dedication to helping injured victims. He has been invited to join numerous elite attorney groups with very selective national membership due to his trial experience and professional achievements.
Anytime a driver focuses on something other than driving, they are engaging in distracted driving. Although texting while driving has become one of the most popular forms of distracted driving, there are many other activities that can distract a driver and increase their risk of causing a crash. Distractions are typically broken into three categories:
Texting is one of the most dangerous forms of distracted driving because it combines all three types of distraction.
While cell phones may be the most prominent distraction, they aren’t the only thing that can cause a driver to take their eyes off the road. Simple actions that drivers might otherwise consider routine can impair your ability to respond to changing traffic conditions. Some of the most common types of distracted driving include:
In Florida in 2023, there were 150,956 distracted driving accidents. Of these, 8,775 were due to attention being placed on an electronic communications device, such as a cell phone, and 117,140 were due to general inattention.
Florida laws attempt to deter distracted driving by prohibiting certain behaviors. Florida’s Ban on Texting While Driving Law prohibits drivers from manually typing into, or reading text from, a wireless device while operating a vehicle. This includes sending text messages, emails, instant messages, or any other form of text-based communication.
Drivers are also barred from using a wireless device in school crossings, school zones, and active work zones with construction workers present.
Drivers who violate Florida’s distracted driving laws can be ticketed for a traffic violation but may not necessarily be considered negligent in a civil claim, depending on the circumstances. In some cases, other evidence like cell phone records may help prove that a crash was caused by distracted driving.
Additionally, Florida’s rule about modified comparative negligence follows Florida Statutes § 768.81, which means that when an injured person is partly to blame for the accident, their recoverable damages may be lowered by their percentage of fault. In most negligence claims, a person who is more than 50 percent at fault for an accident cannot recover damages.
Distracted driving can be challenging to prove because there are rarely any eyewitnesses who can testify that the defendant was texting or looking down at the time of the crash. Unlike driving under the influence or speeding, there typically isn’t a physical indication that a driver was distracted before an accident occurred. Some types of evidence that may support a distracted driving claim include:
Accident reconstruction professionals can use vehicle speeds, braking data, and other evidence to determine where each vehicle was positioned at the time of impact. They can use this information to estimate how long it should have taken each driver to react if they were paying attention, and identify whether distraction may have been a factor.
One of the primary reasons distracted driving accidents are so deadly is because drivers may not try to brake or avoid the crash. If a driver doesn’t attempt to slow down before impact, these accidents can result in higher impact collisions that cause more serious injuries.
The consequences of distracted driving crashes often include severe outcomes such as traumatic brain injuries, fractured bones, internal damage, debilitating spinal cord injuries, lacerations, burns, and long-term disabilities. Some injuries require multiple surgeries and lifelong medical care.
These injuries can cause car accident victims to endure lifelong medical care, lost wages, permanent scarring, and lost opportunities to enjoy life as they once had.
There are many reasons why you should hire a distracted driving accident lawyer immediately after a crash. A Seminole distracted driving accident attorney can help preserve evidence and make sure your claim is reviewed before speaking with insurance companies. Your attorney can:
If your case cannot be settled, your attorney can file a claim in court, conduct discovery, present your evidence, and represent you in court.
Distracted driving accidents typically require an investigation to determine how the collision occurred. Pursuing a claim without legal representation may prevent you from recovering the full amount of compensation you deserve. If you have to file a legal civil claim, most cases in Seminole would be filed in Pinellas County Justice Center, 14250 49th Street North, Clearwater, FL 33762.
If you think the other driver may have been distracted, don’t argue with them at the scene. Notify the police, take pictures of the accident, get witness information, and inform the police officer of your concerns. Details like noticing them looking down at a phone or appearing distracted by something else could be useful later.
Yes. While hands-free technology may allow you to follow Florida law most of the time, it does not prevent mental distraction. You can be distracted by a phone conversation, voice command, or any other action mentally enough that you take your mind off of driving and traffic around you. Whether hand-free was a factor in your crash depends on the facts of the crash.
Yes. Rain, fog, or other inclement weather that limits visibility doesn’t justify driving distracted, but it may impact the investigation of a crash. Motorists are expected to slow down and pay extra attention if weather conditions are poor. Weather, road conditions, and visibility often factor into crash investigations along with distraction evidence.
Yes. Sometimes more than one person was negligent in a collision. For instance, one driver may have been distracted while another driver was speeding or driving without yielding the right-of-way. Florida law provides that fault can be allocated among two or more parties depending on the evidence. That is why a full investigation into the circumstances surrounding the crash is important when assessing who was at fault.
Distracted driving is one of the most common causes of preventable car accidents. Knowing Florida’s distracted driving accident laws, how distraction is proven, and what evidence could support a distracted driving accident claim can allow injured victims to make informed decisions after a crash. At Ronald Bone, P.A., we can help you get the answers you need. Contact us today for more information.
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