Florida ranks third in the nation for fatal commercial truck accidents, and one of the main roadways where many accidents occur is Interstate 95 (I-95). The majority of fatalities occur among car drivers and passengers in collisions with 80,000-pound trucks.
A truck driver’s negligence can often be attributed to distracted driving. Whether it’s because they are daydreaming or texting a friend, their attention is not on the road. If you have been injured in one of the many distracted driving truck accidents in Boca Raton, an attorney from Your Damage Lawyer can build a case and fight for adequate compensation.
There are three categories of distraction that truck drivers, and all motorists, may experience: visual, manual, and cognitive. Your attorney will scrutinize the facts and evidence to build a case claiming that the cause of your accident fell into one or more of these categories.
Visual distractions occur when a trucker is looking at something other than the road, while manual distractions occur when the trucker takes their hands off the wheel or feet off the pedals. Cognitive distractions occur when the driver is thinking about something else, such as when a trucker is daydreaming or mentally rehearsing a homecoming scene.
Examples of common distractions while driving include:
Over the past two decades, texting while driving has become a significant nationwide cause of distracted driving. Most states, including Florida, ban the practice, although hands-free communications are permitted. The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration reports that truckers who text and drive are 23 times more likely to cause accidents than those who give their full attention to the road and surroundings.
Our attorneys are passionate advocates for members of our community in Boca Raton who have been injured because of the irresponsible actions of others–including truckers who cause crashes by not paying attention. You deserve fair compensation, and we will fight hard to win it for you.
Not all accidents are entirely the fault of the distracted trucker. If an injured motorist is partly to blame, the jury must decide what percentage of fault to assign to each party. This is called the doctrine of comparative negligence.
In Florida, an injured party cannot recover a damages award if they were more than 50 percent at fault for an accident. For instance, a trucker might be driving while distracted, but the injured party could have been following too closely and then attempted to overtake the truck. If the jury assigns 20 percent of the blame to the injured person in this scenario, any damage award will reflect this and be reduced by the injured party’s percentage of blame. Thus, a $1 million award for the truck accident will be reduced by 20 percent to $800,000.
Your Boca Raton attorney can assess the circumstances of the distracted driving incident that caused your injury and discuss the best strategy for pursuing compensation.
Truck drivers must adhere to high standards due to the nature of their work, crisscrossing highways and delivering cargo across the nation. Driving at night can be lonely, and some drivers may become distracted to relieve the repetitive nature of long-distance travel. However, distraction is never a justification for unsafe driving. For people injured in distracted driving truck accidents in Boca Raton, there are no excuses that can give them back their physical and emotional health and restore them financially after a driver’s reckless actions.
If you were involved in a crash with a distracted truck driver, you have the right to take legal action. Call now to discuss your situation–and remember–you owe us nothing unless we win your case.
