Distracted Driving Automobile Accidents
Distracted Driving: Your Rights After A Crash
Distracted driving accidents can cause serious injuries. It is illegal in California to use a cellphone while driving, but that does not stop inconsiderate individuals from risking the lives of others to make a phone call, send a text or check email.
Our injury attorneys at Alfonso & Berriz, APC represent victims in Thousand Oaks and Ventura and throughout the San Fernando Valley in California. Distracted driving leads to serious injuries and fatalities. We are passionate about holding negligent drivers accountable for their actions and helping you find the best road to recovery.
Types Of Distracted Driving
Drivers become distracted easily behind the wheel. This is dangerous and can cause a serious accident. Distracted driving comes in many forms, including:
- Texting while driving and other cellphone use
- Eating or drinking
- Dealing with passengers
- Applying makeup
- Adjusting navigation, music or vehicle controls
- Reaching for an object that has fallen
- Reading or looking at something outside the vehicle
Safety researchers generally group these into three kinds of distraction: visual, meaning eyes off the road; manual, meaning hands off the wheel; and cognitive, meaning attention off the task of driving. Texting is treated as the most dangerous precisely because it involves all three at once.
The negligence is clear when an accident involves a distracted driver. Our lawyers will pursue full compensation for victims of negligence. We will be your strongest advocate as we fight for a settlement or verdict that fully compensates you for your medical expenses, pain and suffering, lost earnings and additional damages.
What California Law Says About Phones
California prohibits holding and operating a phone or similar device while driving. A device may generally only be used hands-free and mounted, and even then only with a single tap or swipe. Drivers under 18 may not use a phone while driving at all, including hands-free.
A violation is not automatically the end of a civil case, and a driver who was not breaking the phone law can still be negligent. Eating, reaching for something, or being absorbed in a conversation are not offences, but they can still amount to failing to drive with reasonable care.
Proving A Driver Was Distracted
Drivers rarely admit it, which makes this largely an evidence exercise. Phone records and app usage data can establish what a device was doing at the moment of impact. Vehicle event data recorders capture speed, braking and steering inputs in the seconds beforehand. Camera footage, witness accounts and the physical evidence of whether the driver braked at all can all point the same way.
Much of that material is held by third parties and is not preserved indefinitely. Phone records in particular are retained for limited periods, which is why a request to preserve them matters early.
Getting The Medical Care You Need
Even if you have done nothing wrong and do everything right in the aftermath of an accident, the insurance company will likely still shirk responsibility. If that is the case, we will not shrink from aggressively litigating a claim to obtain the financial compensation you need and are legally entitled to recover.
Shared Fault Does Not End A Claim
California follows pure comparative fault. If an insurer argues you contributed to the collision, that reduces a recovery by your share rather than barring it. Someone found 15 percent at fault would generally recover 85 percent of their damages.
Deadlines
A personal injury lawsuit generally must be filed within two years under California Code of Civil Procedure section 335.1. A claim for vehicle damage alone generally has three years under section 338. If a public entity is involved, a written claim is generally required within six months. Phone and vehicle data can be gone long before any of these.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is it illegal to use a phone while driving in California?
Holding and operating a phone while driving is prohibited. Hands-free and mounted use is generally permitted with a single tap or swipe, and drivers under 18 may not use a phone at all while driving.
Can phone records be obtained to prove distraction?
Often yes. Phone records and app usage data can show what a device was doing around the time of impact, but they are retained for limited periods, so acting early matters.
What if the driver was distracted but not on a phone?
It can still be negligence. Eating, reaching for an object or being absorbed in conversation are not offences, but a driver is still required to exercise reasonable care.
Does a traffic citation decide my case?
No. A citation is evidence that can support a claim, but a civil case does not depend on one being issued or upheld.
What if I was partly at fault?
California uses pure comparative fault, so your recovery is reduced by your share rather than eliminated.
What does it cost to bring a claim?
You owe us nothing if we do not obtain compensation.
How long do I have to file?
Generally two years for injury under Code of Civil Procedure section 335.1, three years for vehicle damage, and six months where a public entity is involved.
Contact Us
You owe us nothing if we do not obtain compensation. Schedule your free consultation by calling (818) 889-1577 or sending us an email to get started.