Texting While Driving Car Accidents in New Braunfels
One of the first things new drivers learn is that driving requires complete attention. Distractions lead to danger, whether it results from the driver taking their hands off the wheel, eyes off the road, or mind off the task.
Texting and driving is particularly dangerous because it simultaneously requires the driver to do all of those things: take a hand off the wheel to hold their phone, their eyes off the road to look at the screen, and their mind off the situation around them to read or compose their message. Nevertheless, many drivers engage in this behavior regularly.
When you have been injured in a texting while driving car accident in New Braunfels, you may have received serious injuries. If your injuries result from the other driver’s careless or reckless actions, then a seasoned car crash attorney can help you recover compensation for your losses by holding the other driver legally responsible.
Texting and Driving Laws
Texas Transportation Code § 545.4251 makes texting while driving illegal within the state. This statute provides that no driver is allowed to send, write, or read a message to or from another person unless their vehicle is at a stop.
If a driver breaks this rule, they may be convicted of a misdemeanor and fined; however, if their actions lead to another person’s serious injury or death, they may also be imprisoned for up to one year.
This statute is helpful because it is intended to deter texting while driving and keep the roads safer. After texting while driving wrecks in New Braunfels, however, this statute does not contain provisions that will directly help or provide relief to a person injured in the accident. However, an experienced attorney may be able to use the violation of this statute as evidence of the driver’s negligence within a personal injury case, which, if successful, will result in payments directly to the injured person.
What To Do After a Crash Caused by a Distracted Driver
After a person is involved in a crash in New Braunfels caused by texting, it can be difficult to know what to do next. However, the actions an injured person takes immediately following a wreck can directly impact the compensation they may receive. Therefore, it is critical to have a plan in place and implement best practices, such as:
- Check and see if anyone needs immediate medical assistance
- Report the crash to the authorities
- If possible, move the people and vehicles involved in the wreck off the road and outside the flow of traffic
- Document the scene by taking pictures of the vehicles involved
- Ask for the contact, insurance, and driver’s license information of all other drivers involved in the wreck
- Do not apologize for the wreck or otherwise accept any blame for it
- Do not post about the wreck or any injuries on social media
Finally, anyone involved in a car crash should seek medical attention as soon as they leave the scene. Even if injuries do not seem immediately severe, sometimes symptoms may not be noticed until later, after the adrenaline from the experience has subsided. Moreover, the longer an injured person waits between the accident and seeing a doctor, the harder it will be for them to prove that they sustained those injuries from the auto collision and not from some intervening cause.
Seek Legal Help After a New Braunfels Texting While Driving Crash
Recovering from a serious injury can put a lot on your plate. Aside from the pain and inconvenience that comes with a major injury, there may be mounting medical bills, insurance claims, and missed time at work that further complicates your life. But you do not have to bear these things on your own. A well-practiced lawyer can help you investigate the crash, handle the insurance companies and other parties, and seek the compensation you deserve for your losses.
Call a qualified attorney experienced in handling texting while driving car accidents in New Braunfels today.
