Car Accident While Texting in Florence, SC

Texting is considered to be the most dangerous form of distracted driving. Due to statistics and the release of numerous studies, the public has known about this for many years.

Additionally, laws have been passed in nearly every state in the country, which ban texting while driving. This includes South Carolina. This is why there is no excuse for a driver who causes a crash because he or she was texting at the time.

Car Accidents Caused by Texting While Driving

The South Carolina car accident attorneys of Jebaily Law Firm, take texting-related crashes seriously. In addition to helping victims and their families to recover just compensation for the harm they have suffered, we are actively involved in efforts to prevent these wrecks from happening in the first place. Attorney George D. Jebaily, for instance, is a speaker on behalf of EndDD.org.

If you have been injured or lost a loved one in a crash caused by a texting driver in Florence, Myrtle Beach or surrounding areas in South Carolina, we will work diligently to seek the justice you deserve. Don’t wait to take action. Call us today or reach us online to receive a free consultation.

Why Is Texting So Dangerous?

As the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) points out, texting while driving is particularly dangerous because it combines three types of distractions:

Manual – One or both of a driver’s hands are on the phone, typing, and not on the steering wheel
Visual – The driver’s eyes are off the road and instead focused on a phone screen
Cognitive – Instead of thinking about how fast the car is going and paying attention to surrounding traffic, a driver is thinking about the message that he or she is reading or typing.

Numerous studies have been published during the past decade, underscoring the risks of texting while driving. For example:

One study, published in the journal, Human Factors, found that the drivers it analyzed were six times more likely to get into a crash while texting.
Another study, by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, found that texting while driving creates an accident risk that is 23 times higher than if one was driving without any distractions.

According to its most recent annual estimate, the National Safety Council states that about 6 percent of crashes in the country, or around 341,000, involve texting drivers.

Given these studies and statistics, no reasonable person would text while driving. In that sense, a driver who causes a crash due to texting should be considered negligent – if not reckless – and held accountable for the harm caused.

Additionally, South Carolina banned texting while driving in June 2014. A failure to follow a law that was clearly meant to protect motorists on our roads can be deemed negligence per se.

How We Can Determine If Texting Caused Your Crash

When the personal injury attorneys of Jebaily Law Firm, take on a case, our goal is to conduct a thorough investigation in order to determine the cause of the crash and who should be held responsible for it.

In many cases, an accident may bear signs that distracted driving played a role. For instance, if the driver who caused the car crash failed to stop at a stop light or stop sign, tailgated and hit the driver in front or drifted into another lane, it can signal distraction. A lack of skid marks may indicate that the driver did not realize the risk of a crash until it was too late.

If a teen caused the crash, texting likely played a role. A recent study by the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety found that driver distraction was a factor in 58 percent of the teen driver accidents it studied. Cell phone use contributed to 12 percent of those wrecks.

When texting is suspected, our law firm’s investigation can include reviewing the police accident report to see if the driver was cited for texting while driving. It can also include:

Interviewing eyewitnesses who can state whether they saw the driver using a cell phone at the time of the crash
Obtaining the driver’s cell phone records through a subpoena to determine if texts were sent or received in the seconds leading up the crash
Checking social media account activity to see if any messages or “tweets” were posted just before an accident.

What Can You Recover after a Texting Accident in South Carolina?

If our law firm determines that another driver’s texting while driving caused your crash, we will seek full and fair compensation on your behalf, including:

Past and future medical expenses
Lost income and diminished future earning ability
Pain and suffering
Wrongful death damages.

In most cases, we will seek a recovery through the at-fault driver’s liability insurance. However, other parties may share in the responsibility for the crash.

For example, if the at-fault driver was working at the time of the accident, the driver’s employer may be held responsible for its employee’s negligent actions. If the employer permitted or encouraged employees to text while driving, the employer may actually be directly liable for the harm you have suffered.

Contact Our Florence Texting Accident Attorneys Today

You have the right to take legal action if you were injured or lost a loved one in a crash in Florence, Myrtle Beach or elsewhere in South Carolina that was caused by a texting driver. Allow Jebaily Law Firm, P.A., to review your case for free and help you to pursue the compensation you deserve. Call or contact us online today.

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