This is How Distracted Driving Can Change Your Life!
Our Client Hopes This Never Happens to You!
Distracted Driving Destroys Lives
In only a second or two, our client’s life was changed forever. She was struck and seriously injured by a distracted driver.
As she did every night after getting home from work, our client was lawfully walking across the parking lot driveway at her townhouse complex to get the mail. When she started to cross, there were no cars.
Just before making it all the way across the driveway, a vehicle entered the parking area from the main street and approached our client from the left. Our client observed the drivers head looking down looking at her phone.
Because of the driver’s reckless conduct, our client sustained catastrophic injuries including a devastating fracture to her right tibial plateau, an L1 compression fracture to her back, a left knee ligament tear, a left foot 5th MT fracture, a left foot abrasion- eschar with an open wound and right medial heel eschar.
The distracted driver did not accept responsibility for her negligent actions and we were forced to set this matter for a jury trial. As the trial date approached, and through a lot of hard work in the settlement negotiation process, we were able to get the case resolved and obtain a settlement that allowed our client to pay for all of her medical bills, compensate her for her pain and suffering, and in the end, find justice.
Our client asked us to share her story with you. She wants distracted drivers to know how dangerous their intentional self-centered conduct is. Before being hit, our client was an active and healthy human being who enjoyed life to its fullest. Today, it’s difficult for her to walk, sit and stand without pain.
Several pictures of our client’s injuries are included in this post. They tell the story better than we can.
More Reasons Why We Have a Zero Tolerance with Distracted Drivers
As many of you know, Lisa and I have been practicing law for 35 years. Because of the devastation we’ve personally observed families experience from drunk and distracted driving, we’ve made it our mission to raise awareness and try to fix these two big problems.
Many people are not aware of the fact that distracted driving is a huge public safety issue. Each year 4,000 to 6,000 people are killed, and another 400,000-600,000 people are injured because of distracted driving. To put these numbers into perspective, about 280,000 people are injured each year from drunk driving.
Every single second during daylight hours in the United States, there are 600,000 people driving a vehicle with a mobile device in their hands. Another incredible statistic is that each of these 600,000 distracted drivers who are looking down at their smartphone is spending an average of 3-5 seconds doing so. Traveling at 55 mph, that’s like traveling the length of a football field while blindfolded in a 2-4 ton missile.
The problem of distracted driving is getting worse each day. Look to your left and right the next time you drive to work, drop your kids off at soccer, or are stopped at a red light. Watch social media posts on Instagram, Facebook Live and Periscope. What’s happening is inexcusable and not OK. People are getting hurt and families are losing loved ones. This reckless conduct needs to stop.
Conclusion
Distracted driving hurts innocent victims. It’s killing people every sing day.
Please don’t be a distracted driver. Please don’t look the other way and let others participate in distracted driving.
We hope something like this never happens to you. If it does, we're here for you.
Stay safe!
Lisa and Mitch