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What Are My Rights if I Am Involved in an Accident with a Driver Who Was on Their Phone

On Behalf of | | Motor Vehicle Accidents

Distracted drivers are a major concern on our roadways, and motorists who are more interested in their phones than in navigating the road safely put everyone at increased risk. If you’ve suffered an injury due to a driver who was on their phone at the time of the accident, you can seek compensation for your physical, financial, and emotional losses with a car accident claim that’s based on their distraction, and it’s in your best interest to have an experienced South Carolina car accident attorney in your corner.

Distracted Driving

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) reports that distracted drivers claimed the lives of 3,308 people in 2022 alone. Further, they share that the most alarming distraction is texting and other phone practices that involve typing and reading. In the average of five seconds that it takes to dash out or read a text, a motorist who is traveling at highway speeds drives about the length of a football field with their eyes off the road, which is a clear setup for dangerous accidents.

Your Rights

If you’ve been injured by a driver who was distracted by their phone, you have the right to seek compensation for your legal damages by filing a car accident claim with their car insurance provider. You’ll need to prove the driver’s distraction, which requires evidence that often takes the following forms:

  • Eyewitness testimony
  • Any dashcam footage that’s available
  • The police report and any tickets issued, such as if the driver was ticketed for distracted driving
  • Your own account of how the accident happened
  • The at-fault driver’s phone record

Some of the tell-tale signs of phone usage behind the wheel are a driver who fails to notice shifts in traffic, a driver who drives more slowly while interacting with their phone then speeds back up, and a driver whose head is lowered and has their eyes trained downward rather than outward. A seasoned car accident attorney has the legal skill and insight to prove the other driver’s negligence in support of your claim’s most favorable resolution.

Seeking Just Compensation

In your car accident claim, you can seek compensation for your losses in each of the following primary categories:

  • Property damage to your vehicle and its contents
  • Your medical expenses, which may need to address future healthcare costs – including complications and secondary concerns
  • Your lost income, which may need to address losses related to your career and your earning power
  • Your physical and emotional pain and suffering, which can overshadow your other losses combined

An important element of every successful car accident claim is ensuring that every covered form of loss is well-defined and fully accounted for.

An Experienced South Carolina Car Accident Attorney Is Standing By to Help

The dedicated South Carolina car accident attorneys at Query Sautter & Uricchio, LLC appreciate how challenging your situation is and will spare no effort in pursuit of a settlement that covers your full range of losses. Your claim is important, so please don’t delay reaching out and contacting us online or calling 843-795-9500 for more information about what we can do to help you today.