Text message sender is sued in distracted driving accident

Victims in distracted driving accident claim sender of text message enabled driver to be distracted

The victims of a distracted driving accident are making history in the lawsuit they have filed for damages.  A man and his wife who both lost their left legs when the motorcycle they were riding was struck by a driver who was texting are suing the sender of the text message as well as the driver.

The driver of the car that struck the New Jersey couple in Sept. 2009 pled guilty to using a hand-held cellphone while driving, careless driving, and failure to maintain a lane.  The man was sentenced to $775 in fines and was ordered to speak about the dangers of texting and driving at local high schools, according to the article in the New York Daily News.

The couple is seeking damage for medical costs related to their injuries.  The lawsuit claims that the person sending the text message knew her friend was driving and that she was “electronically present” at the time of the accident.  The lawyer for the couple compares the texter's actions to someone who enables another to drive drunk.

The defense calls the charges unreasonable and said the woman had “no way to control” when the driver would read the message.  In fact, the lawyer claims, “she had the right to assume her text would be read at a “safe time.”  The defense moved to dismiss the case.

A judge will rule later this month if a text message sender can be held liable for encouraging distracted driving.

Our Pennsylvania car accident attorneys are closely watching this case.  While our law firm, state officials, federal officials and countless other organizations have continued to call for Americans to stop texting while driving, the consequences of these actions are very real and very distressing to the victims and to the distracted drivers at fault.

We encourage all PA drivers to focus on the task at hand. Please do not use your cellphone while driving, and as always, don't drink and drive.

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