Atlanta Texting While Driving Accident Lawyer

The busy roads and highways of Georgia connect communities, families, and businesses. Yet, every day, these vital arteries become scenes of preventable tragedies due to a driver texting while driving. This isn’t a minor issue; it’s a crisis. Data reveals that in 2022 alone, 53% of all motor vehicle traffic crashes in Georgia involved at least one driver who was distracted. While distractions come in many forms, one behavior stands out as being a higher danger than others: using a handheld electronic device, particularly for texting. Texting while driving not only takes a drivers’ eyes off the road, but also requires a driver to manually be distracted when they use their hands to text. By having multiple types of distraction, texting while driving multiplies the risk of accidents exponentially.

Recognizing this escalating danger, Georgia lawmakers have enacted the Hands-Free Georgia Act, which makes it a crime to be texting and driving. If you or a loved one has suffered injuries because another driver was focusing on their phone instead of the road, you have important legal rights. Holding distracted drivers accountable is not just about seeking justice; it’s about securing the financial resources necessary for recovery and sending a message that this reckless behavior will not be tolerated. At Merritt & Merritt Law Firm, we are your Atlanta texting while driving accident lawyer team who can get you the compensation you deserve. Call us today at 404-975-1775 for your free consultation and see what we can do for you.

Georgia’s Distracted Driving Numbers

The statistics surrounding distracted driving in Georgia paint a grim picture that shows how serious distracted driving is to the safety of others.

• Widespread Crashes: Half of all crashes in Georgia have been caused by distracted drivers, and those statistics have not changed much over the years. These consistent numbers showcase that distracted driving, even with new laws in place, is a real danger to everyone who utilizes the roads in Georgia. Observational studies further suggest that at any given moment during daylight hours, roughly one in five drivers in the state of Georgia is engaged in some form of distraction (6% observed in the 2023 survey, up from 16.8% in 2022).
• Increased Severity: Distracted driving isn’t just causing more accidents; it’s contributing to more severe accidents. In 2022, 30% of all crashes resulting in serious injuries had at least one driver who was suspected to be driving distracted. The number of serious injuries directly linked to a confirmed distracted driver saw a 20% jump between 2021 (354 injuries) and 2022 (423 injuries). These accidents are usually caused by drivers failing to hit the brakes in a timely manner due to their distraction, and with an increase in distracted drivers, the amount of severe accidents have also increased.
• Fatal Consequences: In 2022, 74 fatal crashes (4.4% of all fatal crashes) were confirmed to involve a distracted driver. These confirmed distraction fatalities sadly have added to the growing number of traffic fatalities in Georgia in the last few years.
• Youth Involvement: Younger drivers, particularly those aged 15-24, are disproportionately among the main offenders of texting while driving. While representing only 15% of licensed drivers in 2022, this age group accounted for 26% of all distracted drivers involved in crashes and received nearly one-third (32%) of all distracted driving citations issued after a crash.

Texting While Driving and Your Injury Claim

When a driver causes an accident while texting, their actions have significant legal consequences beyond just traffic tickets. In the context of a personal injury claim, such a violation can be powerful evidence of negligence.

Most personal injury claims are based on the legal concept of negligence, which a plaintiff proves by generally showing four things:

1. The person who caused the injury owed the plaintiff a duty of care. All drivers who operate vehicles on Georgia roadways owe a duty to others on the road to operate their vehicle with reasonable care and avoid causing harm.
2. The defendant breached that duty.
3. The defendant’s breach of duty caused the plaintiff’s injuries.
4. The plaintiff suffered actual damages (injuries, financial losses, etc.).

Georgia law recognizes a legal doctrine called “negligence per se,” which essentially means “negligence in itself”. This doctrine applies when a person violates a statute designed to protect public safety, and that violation causes the type of harm the statute was intended to prevent. Traffic laws, including the Hands-Free Georgia Act, are considered safety statutes that are meant to protect public safety by reducing the risk of accidents being caused by distracted driving.

Because the Hands-Free Law is a safety statute, proving that the at-fault driver violated this law could establish negligence per se. This means the violation in and of  itself can satisfy the “breach of duty”, or the second element of a negligence claim.

By establishing negligence per se, the burden of proof shifts to the defendant instead of the plaintiff, which means that the defendant now has to prove that they were either not negligent, or that there was a legally valid excuse for violating the statute. While this presumption is powerful, it’s not foolproof, and the defendant can still present evidence to counter it. This underscores the need for skilled legal representation from the Atlanta texting while driving accident lawyer team at Merritt & Merritt Law Firm who can not only prove the violation but also anticipate and effectively counter potential defense arguments.

It is essential to remember that proving a violation of the Hands-Free Law, even if it establishes negligence per se, is not automatically enough to win the case. The plaintiff must also demonstrate that the driver’s violation was the direct cause for the plaintiff’s injuries. For instance, if a driver was illegally texting and consequently ran a red light, hitting another vehicle, the link between the illegal texting (the violation) and the collision (the harm) is clear. The violation must have directly contributed to the crash.

What Compensation Can You Recover After a Georgia Distracted Driving Accident?

Being injured in an accident caused by a distracted driver can result in significant physical, emotional, and financial burdens. Georgia law allows victims to seek monetary compensation, known as “damages,” to cover the various losses they have suffered due to the driver’s negligence. Understanding the types of damages available is crucial for pursuing a fair recovery. Damages can generally fall into three categories: economic, non-economic, and, in some cases, punitive.

Economic Damages

These damages compensate for physical financial losses directly resulting from the accident and injuries. These kinds of damages aim to restore the victim to the financial position they were in before the accident occurred. Examples of economic damages include:

• Medical Expenses: This is often the largest component, covering all past, present, and future anticipated costs related to treating the injuries. This can include anything from emergency transport, emergency room care, hospital stays, surgeries, doctor appointments, prescription medications, physical therapy, rehabilitation, chiropractic care, necessary medical equipment, and emotional therapy.
• Lost Income and Wages: Compensation for the earnings lost due to being unable to work during the recovery period from the accident.
• Loss of Earning Capacity: If the accident caused injuries that prevent the plaintiff from working in the job they were in before the accident, a loss of earning capacity, or what they could have earned if they remained working, could be recovered.
• Property Damage: These damages can include things such as damage to the vehicle,  or any personal items that were inside or attached to the vehicle.
• Other Out-of-Pocket Expenses: Costs such as transportation to medical appointments, modifications needed for home or vehicle accessibility due to disability, or hiring help for household tasks the victim can no longer perform could be included in these kinds of damages.

Non-Economic Damages

These damages address the emotional, human cost of the accident – the harms that don’t have a precise price tag but significantly impact the victim’s life. Examples include:

• Pain and Suffering: Compensation for the physical pain, discomfort, and general hardship endured because of the injuries, both past and future.
• Emotional Distress and Mental Anguish: Compensation for the psychological impact, such as fear, anxiety, depression, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), sleep disturbances, or trauma resulting from the accident.
• Loss of Enjoyment of Life: Compensation for the inability to participate in hobbies, recreational activities, social events, family activities, or daily routines that the plaintiff once enjoyed before the accident.
• Permanent Impairment, Disability, or Disfigurement: Compensation for lasting physical limitations, scarring, or other permanent changes to the body caused by the accident.

Punitive Damages

Unlike economic and non-economic damages, punitive damages are intended to punish the defendant for particularly egregious conduct in order to deter similar behavior by others. These damages are rarely awarded,  and typically only in cases involving willful misconduct, malice, fraud, or accidents caused by drunk drivers or extreme acts of road rage.

Calculating non-economic damages is inherently subjective and often a major point of contention in personal injury cases. Effectively proving the extent of pain, suffering, and life changes requires compelling evidence that an experienced personal injury attorney can help evaluate and argue on your behalf for a fair valuation of these profound, though intangible, losses.

Important Georgia Rules

• Comparative Negligence: Georgia follows a modified comparative negligence rule, which means you can still recover damages even if you were partially at fault for the accident, as long as your percentage of fault is less than 50%. However, if you are found at fault, the amount of damages you recover will be reduced by the percentage you are found at fault. For example, if you are found 20% at fault, you can only recover 80% of your total damages. It is crucial that you hire an experienced attorney who can help assess fault accurately and protect you from unfair blame-shifting by the defense.
• Statute of Limitations: In Georgia, there is generally a two-year time limit, known as the statute of limitations, from the date of the accident to file a personal injury lawsuit. Missing this deadline means losing your right to sue for damages. Therefore, it is essential to contact an attorney as soon as possible after an accident, well before the legal deadline approaches, to preserve evidence and protect your rights.

Speak with an Atlanta Texting While Driving Accident Lawyer Today

Texting while driving, or any form of illegal handheld device use behind the wheel, is more than just a bad habit – it’s an illegal act in the state of Georgia that can have dire consequences. As the statistics tragically show, this behavior contributes to a significant number of crashes, serious injuries, and fatalities across our state every year. Georgia’s Hands-Free Law makes it clear: drivers must put down their phones and focus on driving.

When drivers ignore this duty and cause harm, victims have the legal right to seek full and fair compensation for all their losses.

At Merritt & Merritt Law Firm, our Atlanta texting while driving accident lawyer team has been fighting for injured Georgians since 1973 and understands what it takes to win against negligent drivers and their insurance companies. We are available 24/7 to discuss your case. Call us now at 404-975-1775 or visit our website to schedule your free consultation.