Can I Sue Someone Who Injures Me While Driving and Using His Phone GPS?
Using a cell phone while driving is distracting. Distracted driving, which includes any behavior that takes your eyes or attention away from the road or steering your vehicle, is unlawful. But if the other driver was using a GPS function on his or her cell phone while driving and an accident ensued, can you sue that motorist for your damages?
Most States Ban Hand-Held Cell Phone Use in Cars
Over 3,200 people are killed in car accidents in which distracted driving was a factor. Over 400,000 are injured in such accidents. Distracted driving, which most people associate with cell phone use, is considered by most safe driving advocates as insidious as drunk driving, though the civil penalties are far less severe. This is despite a report from the National Highway Safety Administration stating that texting makes you 23 times more likely to be in an accident than those drivers who do not text or use their cell phones at all while driving.
Many states now have laws banning hand-held cell phone use in some fashion, while allowing their use if the phones have a hands-free device that you can voice activate and use to respond to incoming calls. A question arises, however, if you use your cell phone not to call or text anyone but for GPS purposes. A California appellate court ruled in 2014 that viewing a phone while driving is not unlawful under its state law that attempted to ban any use of a handheld cell phone; this would include viewing the GPS, Tinder, your Lyft or Uber app if you are a rideshare driver, or any other app on your phone so long as you are not communicating with anyone.
Texting as Accident Cause
Regardless of whether you were using your cell phone for communication or looking at its GPS function or any other app on your phone, it is unlawful to drive while distracted. This means that any time your eyes leave the road, even for viewing your GPS, it becomes unlawful when your attention is diverted from the business of driving.
If you are hit by someone who was texting, you can sue them for negligent driving if the texting caused a distraction and, for example, the motorist lost control or hit your car from behind, drifted into your lane or ran a red light. If the driver was using his or her GPS or any other app or function on the cell phone other than calling or texting, you can still bring a negligence action for any injuries or property damage you sustained, provided you can prove that the driver was negligent. If you can demonstrate that the cell phone was in use just moments before the accident, it is powerful evidence that the driver was distracted.
If You Caused the Accident
As indicated, California bans any hands-on cell phone use by a driver (except when merely viewing it) under CVC 23123. Texting or the reading of text messages is banned under CVC 23123.5 unless you are using a hands free device. California and many other states also ban its state employees from using cell phones at all when driving. A violation of California’s texting and driving law is an infraction, with a fine of $20 for a first offense and $50 for a subsequent one; it is not a criminal offense like a DUI. However, it is considered a deviation from the reasonably cautious conduct expected of an ordinary motorist.
If you or anyone else was involved in an accident that caused personal injury or property damage, the burden is on the plaintiff or the injured party to prove by a preponderance of the evidence (i.e., more likely than not it was the case) that the defendant driver’s negligence caused the accident regardless of what the driver was doing just before the accident occurred. If you rear-ended someone, swerved without warning into oncoming traffic or into the lane next to you or ran a red light, it is negligence.
Also, if you were legally using a hands-free device but you were nonetheless involved in a car accident, you may still be held liable for damages if your actions were negligent. Talking on a device is a distraction and if you caused the accident while conversing in your car, it is evidence that you were driving while distracted.
Damages in an Accident
In a California car accident case with injuries, you can make a claim for the following damages:
- Past and future medical expenses
- Past and future income loss
- Lost earning capacity
- Diminished quality of life
- Pain and suffering
- Emotional trauma
- Spousal loss of consortium
Punitive damages in cases where cell phone use caused a distraction that led to a serious car accident are not part of California statutory law, but courts here and in other states are considering allowing a plaintiff to allege them on a case-by-case basis. In general, there must be evidence that the defendant’s conduct was grossly negligent, outrageous or reckless or exhibited a conscious disregard for the rights and safety of others.
In a case of cell phone use that distracted the driver and led to an accident, more is generally required before the trier of fact can determine that punitive damages are warranted. For instance, if the driver was talking on the phone while speeding 20 or more miles per hour over the posted limit and sped into an intersection without stopping for a stop sign or red light, this might be enough to exhibit reckless or outrageous conduct.
Retain the Law Office of Richard S. Jacinto
Car accident injuries are serious matters. You might face loss of income and substantial medical expenses that are not always covered by your health insurance. You might also be disabled and unable to continue at your present employment or to engage in the same activities as you could before the accident. Also, defendant insurance companies might try to downplay your injuries or lay some or all of the blame for the accident on you.
For these reasons and others, you need the services of a highly experienced personal injury lawyer like Richard S. Jacinto. He has been representing the rights and claims of injured victims and their families in Pasadena and the surrounding communities for over 30 years. Trust your case and the opportunity to obtain the most compensation you can in your car accident case by calling his office today for a free, in-depth analysis of your claim.
