Reading Time: 3 minutes Could You Be At Fault Because You Sent A Text Message?
Distracted driving is the primary and alarming reason for most vehicle crashes. Various states in the United States have put strict regulations and laws to curb distracted driving practices and the consequences.
Several state governments have enacted laws banning texting and talking on cell phones while driving. If caught up using your phone and driving, you might get hefty penalties and get traffic tickets.
But that is if you are driving. What if you texted a person driving a vehicle that crashed after your text? Let’s discuss the details.
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What are your potential liabilities?
It is essential to know your state’s laws on distracted driving. The usage of mobile phones is considered to be potentially dangerous. It may result in visual, manual, and cognitive distractions while driving.
Sending, reading, or typing messages by the driver of a moving vehicle violates anti-text laws. 424,000 U.S. drivers are injured in distraction-related accidents each year, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
What are the implications when your text leads to an accident? It may seem silly to blame someone who didn’t cause the accident directly and wasn’t even in the car. Still, some legal experts say such cases are more powerful than you think, and the plaintiffs can bring substantial lawsuits.
Take, for example, this 2013 New Jersey trial case. The incident involved an 18-year-old driver’s girlfriend texting him about 25 seconds before his truck crossed the median, seriously injuring the biker and his wife. Both of them lost their left legs due to the accident. The jurors stated that text message senders that caused a distracted driver to crash could be held liable.
However, responsibility for the SMS sender’s involvement in the distracted driving incident remains unclear.
What about the person who received the call or text?
Should the person who received the text be held responsible for the car crash? If so, how? The answer is yes. A driver’s responsibility is to ensure safe driving and follow the duty of care at all times.
If a distracted driver hits you and causes severe damage to you and your family, you should know that you can count on the legal department to be by your side. We advise you to take the help of an experienced local attorney. For example, suppose you were sued for a car crash in Fresno, CA. In that case, you should seek the advice of an expert Fresno personal injury attorney.
Damages if Found Partially or Completely Responsible for Injuries
If you are found guilty, you may be partially or fully responsible for damages caused to others. You may be liable, for example, if an injured person misses work or loses money. In addition, the injured person may not be able to return to their previous job, in which case they may be liable for lost wages.
Likewise, if ongoing medical treatment is needed, medical costs may continue to escalate. These costs may be charged to the customer. You may be required to reimburse the SMS recipient’s unintentional suffering in addition to these costs. As you can imagine, these bills can be too high.
What To Do In Such Scenarios?
Remember that if someone sending a text knows that the recipient is driving, it’s better not to send a text message. Likewise, drivers should be aware of replying to text messages. At the same time, driving can result in severe injury or death, as well as legal action against them and the person they’re texting.
Contact a lawyer immediately if you were hurt while reading someone else’s text or suspected of causing an accident because you sent a text.
Greg is a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) with 22+ years experience in Financial Services. He has held numerous FINRA Securities licenses (series 7, 63, 65, and 66), and is an expert on Investment Products and Financial Planning. Greg has 22+ years experience as a real estate investor and degrees in Psychology and Philosophy.
Greg has been quoted/interviewed in Yahoo Money, Yahoo Finance, USA Today, Authority Magazine, Realtor.com, Business Insider, and others.
Greg is an avid runner, and the father to identical twin girls and their awesome brother. His love of budgeting and his kids led him to join The Great Resignation in 2021.
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