We have, in our years as Phoenix personal injury attorneys, seen a number of disastrous effects resulting from negligent driving. With the increased use of cell phones for text messaging, however, there has been a significant increase in motor vehicle accidents in which people are killed or seriously injured due to someone texting while driving. Driving while texting is dangerous. Such behavior now falls under “distracted driving” and texting while driving is now not only considered criminal, it also may result in personal injury lawsuits.
The Arizona Supreme Court found that punitive damages could be appropriately collected for people who drink and drive. This is the case even though those making mistakes while driving while not intending to cause harm, which is legally known as negligence, could not be held responsible for damages. What this essentially means is that those who drink and drive pay not only for income lost, medical expenses, and all other compensation legally owed to the person they hurt in an accident, but the drunk driver can also be penalized monetarily to punish that person as well as to send a message to alter their behavior.
Arizona’s courts have not yet decided whether to treat texting and driving similarly to drinking and driving. As such, texting and driving is still considering negligence rather than a known risk that a person chooses to do. The Arizona court system may decide this on a case by case basis, yet for someone whose life has been tragically altered due to an accident caused because someone decided to text while driving, this type of personal injury case requires a seasoned Phoenix car accident injury lawyer. Such a personal Arizona injury attorney needs to be willing not only to take the case to trial, but to take the case through the appellate process to ensure that the person injured by someone’s negligent texting while driving will be able to recover full and fair damages.
Should you or anyone you know have been a victim of an accident caused because someone was texting while driving, please contact us. We would be glad to discuss your options about potentially pursuing a personal injury claim.
