Distracted driving can cause a serious collision in only a few seconds. A driver who looks at a text message, adjusts a navigation system, reaches for something inside the vehicle, or focuses on a passenger may travel a significant distance without paying full attention to the road.
After a distracted driving accident in Wichita, proving that the other driver was not paying attention can become an important part of pursuing compensation. At Riedmiller, Andersen & Scott LLC, we investigate the circumstances surrounding Kansas car accidents to determine what happened, who was responsible, and what evidence may support an injured person's claim.
What Is Considered Distracted Driving in Kansas?
Distracted driving involves activities that take a driver's attention away from safely operating a vehicle.
Cellphone use is one of the most familiar examples, but distraction can take many forms. A driver does not necessarily have to be texting to become dangerously distracted.
Examples may include:
- Reading or sending messages
- Using social media
- Making or answering phone calls
- Entering information into a GPS
- Adjusting music or vehicle controls
- Eating or drinking
- Reaching for objects
- Interacting with passengers
- Looking at something outside the vehicle
- Grooming while driving
These activities can involve visual, manual, or cognitive distraction. Some behaviors involve all three at once.
When distraction contributes to a Wichita collision, determining exactly what the driver was doing immediately before impact can help establish liability.
How Is Liability Determined After a Distracted Driving Accident?
A personal injury claim generally requires evidence showing that another party's negligence caused the accident and resulting injuries.
In a distracted driving case, that can mean establishing that the driver failed to exercise reasonable care behind the wheel and that this failure contributed to the crash.
For example, suppose a driver is reading a text and does not notice that traffic has stopped ahead. If the driver rear-ends another vehicle and causes injuries, evidence of the distraction may help explain why the collision occurred.
However, simply suspecting that someone was using a phone is not necessarily enough. Building a strong Wichita car accident claim may require evidence that connects the driver's behavior to the collision.
Our Wichita car accident attorneys can investigate distracted driving allegations and work to identify evidence that may establish fault.
What Evidence Can Prove a Driver Was Distracted?
Distracted driving often happens inside a vehicle, which means there may not be an obvious physical sign at the accident scene.
An investigation can therefore involve several different types of evidence.
Potential evidence includes:
- Cellphone records
- Text message timestamps
- Witness statements
- Police reports
- Dashboard-camera footage
- Surveillance video
- Vehicle data
- Photographs from the accident scene
- Statements from the drivers
- Social media activity
- App or electronic records
The type of evidence available depends on the circumstances.
For example, a witness traveling beside another vehicle might have seen the driver looking down at a phone immediately before the collision. Video from a nearby business could show that the driver never slowed before entering an intersection.
Several pieces of evidence may combine to create a clearer picture of what happened.
Can Cellphone Records Help Establish Fault?
Cellphone records may become particularly important when texting or phone use is suspected.
Depending on what information is legally obtainable, records may help establish whether activity occurred around the time of a Wichita accident. This can be compared with the crash timeline and other available evidence.
Cellphone evidence can become complicated, however.
A record showing activity does not always establish who was using the device or exactly what the person was doing. Likewise, the absence of a traditional text message does not necessarily rule out distraction because drivers may use social media applications, navigation systems, streaming services, or other phone functions.
For this reason, cellphone evidence should generally be evaluated together with the rest of the accident evidence.
What if the Distracted Driver Denies Using a Phone?
Drivers may deny that distraction played any role in an accident.
That does not necessarily end the investigation.
Physical evidence may contradict a driver's version of events. For example, a lack of braking before impact could become relevant when considered with witness testimony that the driver was looking downward. Electronic evidence might also establish activity on a device close to the time of the collision.
Statements made immediately after an accident may matter as well. A driver might tell another motorist, witness, or police officer that they did not see the other vehicle.
Each piece of evidence must be evaluated in context.
For someone injured in a Wichita distracted driving accident, an independent investigation can be important when the responsible driver or insurance company disputes how the crash occurred.
Can More Than One Driver Be Liable for a Kansas Accident?
Some collisions involve allegations that multiple drivers contributed to the accident.
Kansas follows a modified comparative fault system. An injured person's ability to recover compensation can be affected by the percentage of fault assigned to them.
If an injured person is found partially responsible but less than 50 percent at fault, their potential recovery can generally be reduced according to their percentage of responsibility. A person found 50 percent or more at fault generally cannot recover damages from the other party.
This makes fault disputes particularly important.
An insurance company may acknowledge that its driver was distracted but argue that the injured person was speeding, following too closely, or otherwise contributed to the collision.
Evidence can help determine whether those allegations are supported by what actually happened.
What if the Distracted Driver Was Working at the Time?
A distracted driving accident can become more complicated when the at-fault driver was performing job duties.
Delivery drivers, sales representatives, commercial drivers, and other employees may spend substantial portions of their workdays on Wichita roads.
Depending on the circumstances, an employer may potentially become relevant to a personal injury claim when an employee causes an accident while acting within the scope of employment.
Commercial cases may also involve additional evidence, including:
- Employment records
- Company cellphone policies
- GPS information
- Dispatch records
- Delivery schedules
- Vehicle records
- Communications between the employee and employer
Determining whether a driver was working at the time of the crash may therefore be an important part of identifying potentially responsible parties.
Why Is Preserving Evidence Important?
Some of the most useful evidence in a distracted driving case may not remain available indefinitely.
Businesses may routinely overwrite surveillance recordings. Vehicles can be repaired or destroyed. Witnesses may forget details. Electronic records may become more difficult to obtain as time passes.
After a Wichita accident, injured people can help preserve important information by taking photographs, obtaining witness contact details, keeping accident-related documents, and saving communications with insurance companies.
An attorney may also take steps to request or preserve evidence controlled by another person or organization.
Early investigation can be particularly valuable when distraction is suspected but not immediately admitted by the other driver.
What Compensation May Be Available After a Distracted Driving Crash?
Distracted driving accidents can cause injuries ranging from fractures and soft-tissue damage to traumatic brain injuries, spinal injuries, and permanent disabilities.
Depending on the facts of the case, compensation may potentially address losses such as:
- Medical expenses
- Future medical care
- Lost wages
- Reduced earning capacity
- Property damage
- Pain and suffering
- Disability or disfigurement
- Other accident-related losses
The value of a Wichita car accident claim depends on the circumstances, including the severity of the injuries and available evidence concerning liability.
Documenting both the cause of the accident and its financial and personal effects can therefore be important.
Building a Distracted Driving Claim in Wichita
A distracted driving case is not simply about proving that someone owned a cellphone or had one inside the vehicle. The central issue is whether the driver's lack of attention contributed to the collision.
That determination may require reconstructing the events leading up to the accident and comparing physical, digital, and testimonial evidence.
At Riedmiller, Andersen & Scott LLC, we understand that insurance companies may dispute liability even when distraction appears likely. A careful investigation can help establish what the driver was doing, why the collision occurred, and who should be held responsible.
Speak With a Wichita Car Accident Attorney
If you are dealing with injuries caused by a distracted driving accident in Wichita, our attorneys are here to help. Riedmiller, Andersen & Scott LLC can investigate the crash, preserve important evidence, address disputes over liability, and help you pursue compensation for your injuries.
Call us today at (316) 263-0001 or connect with us online to schedule a free consultation.
