Wilkes-Barre Distracted Driving Accident Lawyer

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Distracted Driving Accident Attorney in Wilkes-Barre

If a distracted driver’s negligence has injured you or a loved one, the aftermath of the accident and how to seek compensation and care can be extremely overwhelming. Shock, pain, suffering, financial stress, and change in lifestyle — whether temporary, long-lasting, or, tragically, fatal — are what you and your loved ones may be experiencing. You need to ensure that your best interest is accounted for and that you are getting the compensation you are entitled to. Insurance companies can minimize offerings, multiple parties may be at fault, and evidence must be preserved and obtained.

An experienced Wilkes-Barre car accident lawyer at Munley Law can review and manage your car accident case and fight to ensure you receive what is due. Contact us for your free consultation — we do not collect a fee for our services unless we win your case.

How many crashes are caused by distracted driving in Wilkes-Barre?

According to the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration (NHTSA), 3,522 people were killed in the U.S. as a result of 3,211 distracted driving accidents in 2021, an increase of 8% more than the previous year.

• According to the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT), there were 2,956 traffic accidents in Luzerne County in 2020; 1,260 reported injuries and 34 fatalities.
• In 2021, there were 60 fatal distracted driving crashes in Pennsylvania, up 27% higher than the previous year.
• The Governors Highway Safety Association (GHSA) reported that the first half of 2021 marked a 17.3% increase in pedestrian deaths due to negligent drivers.

According to the NHTSA, injuries and fatalities resulting from distracted driving incidents are often under-reported.  Law enforcement has difficulty assessing the pre-crash evidence–whether accidents are due to negligence or other factors.

What Is Considered Distracted Driving?

The Centers for Disease Control and Protection (CDC) regards anything that takes your attention away while driving to be a distraction. Any distraction can jeopardize you, your passengers, or fellow drivers with whom you share the road. Common distractions are:

• Talking on a cell phone
• Using a navigation system
• Eating while driving
• Talking to passengers in the car
• Adjusting the radio or temperature (choose to do so at a complete stop)

According to the National Safety Council’s analysis, drivers using hand-held electronic devices have increased by 127%, from 1.5% in 2012 to 3.4% in 2021. Texting, tweeting, or checking messages while driving creates a crash risk 23 times higher than driving while not distracted. Cell phone use is a prominent repeat offense when driving.

Why Does Distracted Driving Cause Accidents?

Visual, manual, and cognitive attention is used when driving. If a driver’s brain is overloaded with exterior information other than what relates to the task of driving, their ability to process information can become compromised. This, in turn, makes them more susceptible to failing to respond quickly to unforeseen hazards and ending up in a crash.

• Visual attention — Keep your eyes on the road
• Manual attention — Keep both hands on your wheel
• Cognitive attention — Keep your mind on the road

The way a driver reacts to unexpected dangers, like the behavior of other drivers, weather changes, construction areas, animals, or objects on the road, can often determine whether they have a near-miss or a collision.

Why is Cell Phone Use So Prevalent in Distracted Driving Crashes?

Texting while driving distracts the driver in multiple ways: visually, manually, and cognitively. The driver’s eyes are removed from the road to either read or send a text (visually), and their cognitive ability to drive safely becomes impaired. Reading and typing require cognitive processing, and deciding what to type also requires mental decision-making; when a driver’s mental focus is diverted to a text, they are far less capable of making smart driving decisions during that moment (cognitive). Finally, texting while driving often requires manual distraction, as the driver takes their hand off the wheel to type a text (manual).

Due to the increased distracted driving incidents, Pennsylvania now considers it a crime for any driver to use a portable electronic device such as a cell phone or wearable technology to manually send, write, or read any type of written communication while a vehicle is in motion.

• A conviction can lead to a $50 fine, plus court costs and other fees.
• Daniel’s Law states that a driver found guilty of causing serious bodily injury while texting will face a 2-year jail sentence, and a driver found guilty of causing fatal injuries while texting will face five years.

How Can a Car Accident Lawyer Help After a Distracted Driving Accident in Wilkes-Barre?

If you or a loved one has been seriously injured in a car accident caused by a driver who was texting, you deserve experienced legal representation from a firm that understands the challenges you face because of your injuries – a firm that is committed to protecting your rights and obtaining the compensation you deserve. The Wilkes-Barre distracted driving accident lawyers at Munley Law will help to show specific elements to recover damages from the defendant successfully:

• Duty — Display that the defendant owed you a duty of care as a fellow driver
• Breach of duty — Prove that the defendant breached this duty through negligent behavior.
• Causation — Validate that this breach resulted in a crash that caused your injuries
• Damages — Prove that you suffered economic and non-economic damages from your injuries

Why Choose a Car Accident Attorney From Munley Law?

The Wilkes-Barre car accident attorneys at Munley Law have decades of experience representing car accident injury victims and have won numerous multimillion-dollar settlements and verdicts. Our attorneys have earned the industry’s highest ratings from Martindale-Hubbell, and have been named to the Best Lawyers in America. Contact a Wilkes-Barre distracted driving accident lawyer at Munley Law today for a free consultation; we collect no fees until we win your case and get you the compensation you deserve.

Munley Law Personal Injury Attorneys

1170 PA-315
Wilkes-Barre, PA 18702
(570) 399-0406