Texting While Trucking: A Difficult Lawsuit To Pursue
Trucking accidents occur thousands of times every year and can often lead to serious injury or death to other drivers. A large number of these accidents occur due to the driver texting instead of paying attention to the road. Pursuing this case or defending against it can be a very tricky situation.
Texting Is A Common Cause Of Trucking Accidents
The unique nature of truck driving means that drivers are often liable to suffer from severe boredom or anxiety during their drive. As a result, they may turn to texting to alleviate this mental strife. However, texting while driving is a serious problem that makes it hard to pay attention. In fact, this act is considered one of the most common causes of commercial trucking accidents.
These accidents are even worse when considering the sheer size and speed of the average truck. A driver who causes an accident while texting may lead to a major disaster that even leads to deaths. A lawsuit is very likely in this case, particularly if someone is injured or killed.
Liability Would Fall With The Texter
In cases of texting while driving, the person who was texting is almost always considered the person liable for the accident. Their distraction while driving most likely lead to the accident or at least contributed to it. As a result, they are likely to suffer from a heavy burden of complete liability that could cost them and their trucking firm a lot of money.
That said, comparative liability could help counter some of these claims. This idea states that both drivers were at least partially responsible for the accident. For example, the other driver may have been driving too fast for conditions when the trucker ran into them. Beyond this defense, the driver may also try to show that they weren't texting while driving.
This Crime Can Be Difficult To Prove
The hardest part about this case for the plaintiff is proving that the truck driver was texting at the time of the accident. Some lawyers have said that these types of cases are very difficult to prove and may lead to many drivers getting off without difficulty. However, it is often possible for cell phone records to prove the case for the plaintiff.
That isn't always an option in every state. For example, some states don't allow a court to access these records without special permission. However, other states are very open about this act because they know that it helps prove the case or provides much needed evidence.
That's why it is important to talk to a trucking accident lawyer from a place like Brownfield Law Office about these kinds of cases before going to court. They can help a person better understand their complexities and create a case that proves the truck driver was at fault due to their texting.