How Negligence May Have Caused Your Thanksgiving Accident
If you got into a car crash over the Thanksgiving holiday, it was likely caused by negligence. Learn about the most common reasons for negligent driving, and whether you have a viable reason to file a personal injury lawsuit.
Distracted Driving
Every year, more and more car crashes occur due to distracted driving. The main reason is due to mobile phone use, whether it’s for talking or texting. Other reasons for distracted driving include conversations, eating, adjusting controls, reading, applying makeup, or personal grooming.
All these activities are potentially dangerous – and even life-threatening – because the driver’s full attention is taken away from the road.
Drunk or Drugged Driving
Thanksgiving weekend is a great time for friends and family to gather, but it typically involves more alcohol use than usual.
Perhaps you’ve heard about Blackout Wednesday, the night before Thanksgiving when people tend to let loose and drink too much while catching up before Turkey Day. It’s a growing tradition that has led to lots of additional accidents.
Prescription or illicit drug use can also interfere with safe driving skills, and their use causes many accidents as well.
Fatigued Driving
When sleepy drivers get behind the wheel, their reaction times are slower and they may not notice traffic signals as well as an alert driver. Fatigued drivers are more likely to fall asleep at the wheel, which is a terrible threat to their own safety and the safety of everyone around them.
If a driver’s fatigue caused your crash, you may have grounds for a lawsuit.
Improper Turns
If a driver was headed in the wrong direction, or turned without yielding, they may have caused a crash. Drivers who are in unfamiliar areas may make wrong turns, as well as those driving drunk or drugged. Make sure to seek compensation from someone who made a wrong turn and crashed into you.
Navigation Problems
More non-local drivers on the road during Thanksgiving weekend pose additional problems. Drivers navigating unfamiliar roads may stop suddenly, drive slowly, turn in the wrong areas, or change lanes without signaling.
All these examples of non-local driver errors can cause car crashes.
Reckless Driving
Everyone has seen a reckless driver on the roadways. Their aggressive maneuvers put everyone at risk. This can even happen in busy parking lots on Black Friday, when shoppers are in a hurry to grab deals and prime parking spots.
If a reckless driver caused your accident, you may have valid grounds to file a lawsuit.
Red Lights Ignored
If a car crashed into you because they ran a red light, the driver was in clear violation of traffic laws. You should not be responsible for your injuries caused by a driver rushing through a red light.
Speeding
This driver error is completely preventable, yet it is the Florida personal injury lawyer as soon as possible.
Tailgating
Everyone seems to be in a hurry these days, and Thanksgiving weekend is no exception. However, there is never a good excuse for tailgating, and if someone crashed into the rear end of your vehicle, they should be held legally responsible.
Teenage Drivers
Young drivers lack experience in making split-second driving decisions. They also tend to drive more aggressively than mature drivers, and they may be more distracted than older drivers. If a teenager caused the car crash in which you were involved, he or she needs to be held accountable for his or her actions.
If you are ready to pursue litigation against the other driver’s negligence, take action on these two steps right away:
File a claim as soon as possible
Call your insurance company and report the accident immediately. Florida follows no-fault insurance laws, which means the other driver’s negligence will not factor into whether you get insurance compensation, up to the guaranteed $10,000 through the new PIP rules.
However, you must seek help within two weeks of the accident for the insurer to provide coverage for your medical care.
Seek legal counsel immediately
The sooner you involve a personal injury lawyer, the sooner you can receive the compensation you deserve. Florida has almost 250,000 car crashes every year, and we represent many victims of those crashes. We have experience finding the best ways to hold negligent drivers financially accountable for their errors.
You don’t have to face your injuries alone. Reach out to us today for a free initial consultation.
About the Author:
Lawlor, White & Murphey in 1998. Since 1995, Mr. Lawlor’s trial advocacy and litigation skills, as well as his wide-ranging legal expertise, have provided plaintiffs and their families with a distinct advantage when seeking financial compensation and justice for injuries caused by the negligence of others. Mr. Lawlor is an EAGLE member of the Florida Bar Association and an active member of the American Association for Justice, the Broward County Justice Association, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), and several professional associations.