Texting While Driving Car Accidents in Hutto
Anyone who operates a motor vehicle without having their full attention on the road ahead of them puts themselves and others at risk of serious harm. For example, reading or sending text messages takes a motorist’s focus away from the wheel and makes them less likely to notice or react to other vehicles and obstacles. Although state laws have made texting while driving illegal, accidents caused by distracted motorists continue to happen.
Anyone who gets hurt because of a texting driver should know they could have the right to compensation. Texting while driving car accidents in Hutto can serve as the basis for substantial financial recovery through insurance negotiations, private settlement negotiations, or a lawsuit in civil court. After your collision, discussing your recovery options with a capable car accident attorney should be your top priority.
How State Law Addresses Texting Behind the Wheel
Like most states, Texas prohibits sending or receiving text messages on any electronic communications device while controlling a moving motor vehicle. In addition, Texas Transportation Code § 545.4251 prohibits all drivers under 18 years old and drivers who have had learner’s permits for less than six months from using any handheld device for any purpose while driving. Another state statute prohibits all drivers from using mobile devices while driving in school zones and forbids school bus drivers from using mobile devices for any reason with children on board.
However, drivers are generally allowed to use their cell phones without restriction while their vehicle is fully stopped. There are also exceptions to these laws for people summoning police or emergency services, using a GPS, or activating a music-playing function. A qualified Hutto attorney can go into more detail during an initial consultation about what circumstances may or may not allow for litigation following a texting while driving car crash.
Pursuing Legal Action After a Texting While Driving Accident
Since texting while driving is against the law, anyone who commits this kind of violation has violated their duty to act responsibly and reasonably on the road. If texting causes a collision that likely would not have otherwise occurred, the texting driver could be considered legally negligent. Injured people in Hutto could have the right to seek financial compensation for losses stemming from a texting while driving car crash based on this negligence.
A successful lawsuit or settlement demand could seek compensation for various economic and non-economic losses, including:
- All past and future medical bills
- Car repair/replacement costs, plus related expenses like rental car fees
- Lost working ability and/or work income
- Physical pain and suffering
- Emotional anguish and psychological distress
- Lost consortium
- Lost enjoyment of life, and other effects of permanent disfigurement/disability
Seasoned legal counsel can provide more information about what damages a particular person might be able to demand payment for in their unique claim.
Talk To a Hutto Attorney About a Texting While Driving Car Accident
No one deserves to get hurt in an auto accident because of another driver’s misconduct, and certainly not because that driver was looking at their phone instead of the road. Unfortunately, crashes caused by texting drivers happen all the time, often resulting in long-lasting and life-altering losses.
Guidance from a knowledgeable legal professional can be key to getting paid fairly for losses resulting from texting while driving car accidents in Hutto. Call today to discuss how we could help.
