As a Kansas City crash lawyer, I know the dangers of distracted driving accidents. This is particularly true as I drive on I-70. Because of the volume of traffic, coupled with the highway speeds, people need to be constantly alert for distracted drivers on the local interstates.
Recently, a woman from Blue Springs was traveling on westbound I-70 when traffic started to back up near the I-435 interchange. As she started to slow down, the driver behind her, who was on his cell phone, violently rear-ended the woman’s vehicle propelling her across lanes of traffic causing another vehicle to broadside the woman’s vehicle.
The bottom line is the woman, who resides in Blue Springs and was heading downtown, was lucky to survive the two impacts. However, in the course of the collisions, she hit her head on the driver’s side window. She was rushed to the emergency room. She is now dealing with a traumatic head injury, including a concussion, and cervical spine injuries. Her rehabilitation could take months.
The case against the distracted driver will be pursued as an “aggravated liability” case. In my opinion, the fault is aggravated because the distracted driver knew or should have known that his cell phone use would have greatly increased the probability of a distracted driving accident. In the past, the most common “aggravated liability” motor vehicle crash cases were the ones that involved drunk or impaired driving. But now, with the proliferation of the cell phone, I can say that distracted driving is just as dangerous as drunk driving.
I also find that most distracted drivers (who cause collisions) make some other excuse for the crash. In these cases it is necessary for the attorney representing the victim to obtain the adverse driver’s cell records. In this why I have clear proof of cell phone use. I also have proof that they were not truthful with police or others who were investigating the crash.
