Centennial Distracted Driving Attorneys
The careless actions of other drivers cost thousands of lives and injure hundreds of thousands of others every year. One of the biggest reasons for accidents: Distracted driving, which contributes to more than one-fifth of the accidents in the Centennial area.
If a distracted driver injured you or someone you love, call a Centennial distracted driving attorney from Varner Faddis Elite Legal, LLC. We can exercise your legal rights to pursue compensation for your damages.
About Varner Faddis Elite Legal, LLC
After suffering an injury in a distracted driving accident, navigating the legal landscape on your own can confuse, stress, and financially break you. Insurance companies have vast resources and experience with these matters and, unfortunately, don’t typically have your best interests at heart. You won’t know what to say or whom to trust, and the slightest misstep can harm your case and reduce the compensation you receive for your damages.
If you are searching for a qualified Centennial distracted driving lawyer, look no further than Varner Faddis Elite Legal, LLC. Our attorneys use cutting-edge technology, modern approaches, and creative solutions to achieve the best possible outcomes for our clients. We serve personal injury clients in both Denver and Centennial.
Over the past five years, we have successfully resolved thousands of cases for clients like you. Our clients are never simply a number or a dollar sign to us you are a unique individual with a story to tell, and you deserve justice for your injuries.
Our recent case results in motor vehicle accident claims include:
- $1.25 million
- $1.19 million
- $1 million
- $800,000
- $730,000
What is Distracted Driving?
Here in the Centennial area, 2,659 at-fault drivers caused more than 20 percent of all accidents in just one recent year. Drugs or alcohol caused only 327.
Despite life-threatening consequences, over 90 percent of Colorado drivers self-report driving distracted. According to the Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT), up to 43 accidents a day are attributable to distracted driving in Colorado.
In fact, distracted driving costs hundreds of people their lives each year across the U.S. In 2020 alone, 3,142 people lost their lives, and approximately 400,000 others suffered injuries from the actions of distracted drivers. Whether driving down I-25 or on city roads, what makes these accidents so tragic is that they are 100 percent preventable.
All of this distracted driving occurs when a driver engages in something that takes their mental, visual, or physical focus away from the road. For instance, eating, drinking, looking after pets or children in the vehicle, looking at an accident on the road, texting or talking on the phone, reading, playing a game on the phone, or using an infotainment system or GPS all qualify as distracted driving when done behind the wheel.
Unfortunately, and against what most people will tell you, multitasking is a myth. Someone’s attention can switch back and forth between multiple tasks quickly; however, even the sharpest human can’t focus on two tasks simultaneously. When a driver gets distracted, their attention diverts from operating the vehicle and the road ahead. Distractions slow their reaction time and also their ability to avoid hazards that may cause a crash.
Types of Distracted Driving in Centennial
Smartphone Use
Every driver has a smartphone these days. There’s no denying that we all have busy lives, and in some instances, multitasking can be quite beneficial. It’s no wonder texting or using a smartphone in other ways while behind the wheel is so tempting. However, drivers must resist this temptation, as texting and driving is illegal. Doing so far too often causes severe injuries and fatalities.
Manual entry on cell phones violates Colorado distracted driving laws and is also a primary offense. This means that law enforcement officers can stop any motorist if they suspect they are texting or otherwise manually using their phone while driving.
While different technologies, such as hands-free options and voice commands for smartphones, help decrease the incidence and risks of distracted driving, they don’t completely eliminate the distractions posed by smartphones.
GPS Systems
Whether traveling to a nature or recreational spot or locating the newest restaurant in town, Coloradans naturally like to explore. Many rely on navigational systems to help make their adventures less hassle.
GPS systems make navigation while driving easier. However, the problem is that they can also remove a driver’s attention from the road. One Market Watch report revealed that the single most distracting action a driver can take while driving is to program a GPS device while behind the wheel. Sending or receiving text messages and making phone calls came in a close second.
One AAA study found motorists programming a GPS with voice touch screens and voice commands were distracted for approximately 40 seconds, compared to 30 seconds for talk-to-text actions. In comparison, the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration (NHTSA) recommends that if they absolutely must be performed, visual/manual car tasks should only take a driver’s eyes off the road for a maximum of 12 seconds.
Talking to Passengers
Reportedly, conversations with others inside the motor vehicle distract drivers as much as talking on a cell phone. Both degrade reaction times, speed lane position, safe following distance, and driver awareness. The result is more collisions.
Keeping conversations to a minimum can decrease the risks of accidents, injuries, and fatalities. Talking can be both a visual and mental distraction, preventing drivers from focusing on their vehicle, the road, and keeping others safe. If drivers absolutely need to have a conversation with a passenger, it’s best to find a safe place to pull over and do it first.
Dealing With Children or Pets
Children or pets can be unpredictable in a motor vehicle. At any moment’s notice, they may require the driver’s attention. Drivers should always pull over in a safe location to deal with children or pets. Before getting in the vehicle, they should ensure they are safely buckled in and have everything they need. This will help reduce their chances of requiring the driver’s attention while on the road.
Is Distracted Driving a Form of Negligence?
Most car accidents result from driver negligence of some type. Whether a motorist was texting, programming their GPS, or talking to a passenger in the vehicle when a collision happened, their negligence likely contributed to the accident in some way. Sometimes, these negligent actions are 100 percent to blame for distracted driving accidents.
Negligence is the failure to conduct oneself with the level of care that a reasonable individual would have used in the same circumstances. For example, if a motorist behaves in a way that creates or increases the risk of harm to others, they are negligent.
Determining Liability in a Car Wreck
One of the most crucial tasks of a Centennial distracted driving lawyer is to identify who is liable for your accident. To receive compensation, you must seek it from the responsible party.
You may have a valid case if your attorney can establish the following elements of negligence:
- Duty: The other party owed you a duty of care, meaning they should act in such a way that a reasonably prudent individual would act under the same circumstances. For example, a prudent individual would stop at a stop sign or put their phone away while driving.
- Breach of duty: The other party failed to uphold their duty of care to you. They may have driven too fast on icy roads or failed to yield the right of way to you when the law says they should have.
- Proximate cause: Your injuries directly result from the other party’s actions or inactions. For instance, if a texting driver hits you, they are liable for your injuries. However, suppose a texting driver hits a curb, frightening a dog. The dog runs into traffic, causing one driver to swerve into your lane and hit your car. In this case, the texting driver wouldn’t likely be liable for your resulting injuries (although, depending on the circumstances, the swerving driver might be).
- Damages: You have compensable damages arising from your injuries. Your damages might include medical expenses, lost wages, pain and suffering, and scarring and disfigurement.
Sometimes more than one party can be liable for your accident. Suppose your Centennial distracted driving attorney from Varner Faddis Elite Legal, LLC determines there are multiple parties responsible. In that case, they will pursue compensation from all of them to maximize your financial recovery.
Colorado’s Distracted Driving Laws
Unlike many other states, Colorado doesn’t ban handheld devices while driving. Everyone except drivers under 18 can use a cell phone to talk while behind the wheel. However, there is also a text messaging ban for drivers of every age.
In Colorado, distracted driving violations are primary offenses. Under the current laws, a law enforcement officer has to observe the driver using a mobile device to transmit data while operating the motor vehicle in a careless or imprudent way to issue a citation. If a texting driver causes bodily injury or is the proximate cause of death to someone else, they can face up to a $1,000 fine and one year in jail.
Should You File a Civil Suit if There are Criminal Charges?
A criminal conviction against the driver who caused your accident will not reimburse you for your injuries. While victim’s advocate services might pay for some of your expenses or offer free services, it comes nowhere near paying for your medical bills and other damages in a distracted driving accident.
Moreover, criminal charges address how the driver broke the law and if and how they should pay a debt to society. Penalties may include sanctions against their driver’s license, fines, community service, and even jail time.
On the other hand, a civil lawsuit is easier to prove. It addresses the driver’s personal liability to you for causing the accident. If the court finds them liable or if the claim settles, they owe the accident victims monetary damages, although typically, their auto insurance company pays these damages.
Do You Need a Centennial Distracted Driving Lawyer?
Yes.
Insurance companies should make claimants and customers whole again after a car accident. This means they need to put them back in the same position they were in before the injury accident. So while they can’t turn back the clock and make it as if the accident never happened, they need to compensate you for your damages.
Insurance companies have the same goal as any other for-profit company— to make money. If they fairly pay their claimants what they deserve, they won’t make as much money. To keep more money in their pockets, they hire insurance adjusters to pay claimants as little as possible.
The adjuster will:
- Contact you as soon as possible to get you to settle before you hire a lawyer and find out what your claim is really worth
- Request a recorded statement and then twisting your words or asking leading or confusing questions to serve their agenda
- Delay the processing of your claim
- Ask you to voluntarily give them the right to access your previous medical records
- Tell you that you don’t need to hire a lawyer
- Downplay your injuries
- Claim you received unnecessary medical care
When you hire an attorney after a car accident, one of our at Varner Faddis Elite Legal, LLC, you no longer have to deal directly with any insurance companies. Your attorney will communicate with them. If you must talk to them for any reason, your experienced Centennial distracted driving attorneys will be present to ensure your legal rights are respected.
Additionally, studies show that car accident claimants with legal representation typically receive more compensation than those who represent themselves.
Did a Distracted Driver Cause Your Injury Accident? Contact Varner Faddis Elite Legal Today
Lauren Varner, Distracted Driving Attorney in Centennial
The attorneys at our personal injury law firm in Centennial strive to provide our clients with skilled legal representation with our combined 32 years of experience.
If a distracted driving accident injured you or took the life of a loved one, our compassionate Centennial distracted driving attorneys are here to help. Call Varner Faddis Elite Legal, LLC at (720) 809-8380 or contact us online for your free consultation today.
Varner Faddis Elite Legal, LLC – Centennial Office
6025 South Quebec St., Suite 100,
Centennial, CO 80111
Phone: (720) 809-8380
Testimonials
I would highly recommend Varner Faddis Elite Legal Team to anyone who was in a car accident and needs an attorney. From the initial meeting to the closing of the case, they were patient, kind, understanding, thorough, and always made sure I was aware of what was going on with my case. And, when I needed an advocate to nudge the insurance claim person or a medical provider, they were always there to bat for me. Their legal services are outstanding!!!
If you are in need of legal representation now or in the future, please do yourself a favor and each out to Eric and Lauren immediately. I guarantee that you will be in good hands.
– Dion Duran (more reviews on Google)
