Distracted driving claims more than 3,000 lives every year and causes thousands more severe injuries. Often, distracted driving car accidents in San Bernardino result in long-term losses and damages, including injuries like traumatic brain injury, spinal cord injury, and more. Unfortunately, drivers continue to drive while distracted. You have the right to hold them accountable with help from a dedicated car accident attorney.
Common Dangers of Distracted Driving
Distracted driving covers more than using a cell phone while driving, which is illegal throughout the state unless the driver can use it in a hands-free manner. It includes any type of behavior that removes the driver’s vision from the road, their hands from the wheel, or their attention from the task at hand. Distractions can include:
- Dealing with kids in the rear of the car
- Picking up dropped objects
- Putting on makeup
- Changing the station on the radio
- Programming a GPS
- Talking to a passenger in the vehicle
Cognitive distractions can also pose a potent risk: a driver focused on needing to find a bathroom as soon as possible, or stewing over a fight with their partner before they took to the road, can also struggle with increased accident risk.
Damages from Distracted Driving Accidents: What to Expect
A driver who chooses to drive while distracted often bears liability for the accident. People who sustain injuries in a distracted driving accident can pursue compensation through the other driver’s insurance policy. Damages they can claim include:
- Medical costs: Many drivers carry MedPay insurance, which will cover the immediate cost of medical treatment for injuries sustained in a car accident. The injured person will need to exceed the overage offered by their MedPay provider before filing a personal injury claim after a distracted driving accident.
- Lost income: Someone unable to work or who otherwise lost out on possible income as a direct result of a San Bernardino distracted driving accident can claim compensation for those losses.
- Pain and suffering: In addition to the tangible financial losses sustained in the accident, the injured person may have suffered significantly. A lawyer can explain more about how to include pain and suffering in a claim.
While the damages from a distracted driving claim cannot restore everything lost in the accident, they can provide much-needed financial compensation to help manage a claim. At Valero Law Group Injury Lawyers, we cannot guarantee the compensation injured people will recover, but we can assess financial and non-financial damages and fight for the compensation they deserve.
Civil Claims vs. Criminal Charges in Distracted Driving Accidents
A distracted driver may face charges from the police when they cause an accident. Those charges are separate from your injury claim. Criminal charges often place the burden of proof heavily on the state’s side, which means the police may not have adequate evidence to prove distraction in the accident even though the other party was found liable. A distracted driving conviction can strengthen a civil claim. However, it is not necessary in order to establish liability for the accident.
While the court may assign punitive damages to the driver who caused a distracted driving accident in San Bernardino, those damages are separate from an injury claim and will not impact it.
Contact an Attorney After a San Bernardino Distracted Driving Accident
If you suffered injuries in a distracted driving accident, an attorney can help you determine the damages you should expect and fight for fair compensation for your losses. Let Valero Law Group Injury Lawyers fight for your financial rights after an injury. Contact us today for your free consultation.
