A distracted driver only needs a few seconds to cause a devastating collision, leaving you injured and frustrated.
Acting upon these feelings alone will not be of much use for protecting your rights. Instead, knowing your legal rights and the actions you need to take after such an accident may help seek the compensation you deserve.
Evidence that can help establish distracted driving
Several factors can establish that a driver was distracted and that the distraction caused your crash. These factors may include the driver’s behavior before the accident and any evidence from the crash and your injuries. To help establish distracted driving, consider the following evidence:
- The driver’s activity: Check whether the driver was texting, talking on a cellphone, changing a navigation system, eating or engaging in another activity that distracted them from driving. According to the New Jersey Division of Highway Traffic Safety, these activities are examples of distracted driving.
- Witness statements: Other drivers, passengers or pedestrians may have seen the driver looking at their phone, not paying attention to the road or doing something else that caused the accident. This information may help establish what happened before the crash.
- Available footage: Traffic cameras, business surveillance systems or other video footage may show the driver’s action prior to the collision. It may be beneficial to preserve this information for as long as possible, as it may become inaccessible at a later date.
- Phone records: When appropriate, cellphone records can help show whether the driver used a phone at the time of the crash. In New Jersey, law enforcement investigators and civil attorneys can obtain a driver’s telephone records through a subpoena or search warrant. These records can provide key evidence of handheld cellphone use around the time of a crash.
The strength of your claim may depend on how well the available evidence connects the driver’s distraction to the crash.
Protecting your claim after a distracted driving crash
New Jersey follows a modified comparative negligence rule. An injured person may recover damages as long as their share of fault does not exceed 50%. If a court finds them 51% or more at fault, they may be barred from recovering anything. This means documenting the distracted driver’s actions clearly can be especially important to your claim.
If a distracted driver injured you, an experienced attorney can evaluate your case, identify the evidence you need to support your claim and explain your options under New Jersey law.