Car Accident Lawyer

Helping car accident injury victims in Fredericksburg, Spotsylvania and throughout Virginia

Of the moving violations cited in the approximately 155,000 car accidents in Virginia in 2003, inattention at the wheel was the leading problem, with nearly one in nine accidents related to driver distraction. More accidents were caused by driver distraction than any other cause, including speeding, failing to yield, and following too close. In addition, a study by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration showed that in nearly 25 percent of accidents nationwide, inattention and driver distraction was a contributing cause to the accident.

Statistics support the fact that Virginia drivers pose more of a threat to each other than ever before. 2003 data on car accidents in Virginia show that 942 people were killed on Virginia roads and highways. This is the highest number of car accident-related deaths in Virginia since the advent of air safety bags, and nearly three times the amount of homicides committed in Virginia that year (385). Beyond the deaths are the thousands of catastrophic injuries Virginians suffer every year in car accidents. 78,842 injuries were reported in 2003, making car accidents the leading cause of brain injury, spinal cord injury and other debilitating injuries.

Driving is a responsibility, not a right, but until every driver approaches driving with the gravity it is due, car accidents will continue to rob our communities of thousands of innocent people every year. More than half of all car accidents are attributed to some form of negligence on the part of the driver. In addition to inattention and driver distraction, speeding, failing to yield, and following too close, examples of negligence also include aggressive driving, running red lights, improper passing, improper turns, improper lane changes, and of course, driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs.

When another driver’s negligence causes injury or death, the law affords the injured parties the right to sue for restitution against the negligent party. These damages can include loss of income, cost of medical care, pain and suffering and other damages incurred by the injured party. In Virginia, many whose lives have been forever changed by the negligence of another driver have turned to Jack Harris for conscientious legal help.

While no one wants to get involved in an extended court battle, especially following the trauma of a car accident in which injuries or death have resulted, this is often the only way to affect positive change in the system. While tougher laws can help, insurance companies are also in a position to screen drivers and ensure that those they insure understand the responsibility they are accepting each and every time they start their vehicles. When an accident occurs, insurance companies are accountable for the mistakes of those they’ve insured. Forcing them to recognize the damage they’ve caused, and providing fair and adequate financial settlements to the injured is often the only way to obtain justice, for yourself and for others facing the same personal trials.

Teens and car accidents: more at play than a lack of driving experience

Today, teens are three times more likely to die in car accidents than adults. While it has always been suspected that this higher rate was related to a lack of maturity more than anything else, a recent study by the National Institutes of Health provides scientific proof that risk taking behavior is as much biological as it is psychological. The study showed that the part of the brain that controls and monitors risk behavior doesn’t reach full development until the age of 25. Previous analysis assumed that the brain reached full maturity by the age of 18. The study cited that teens are particularly prone to taking risks when friends and peers are observing them drive.

How this will affect the laws that govern teenage driving has yet to be determined, but if the capability of teenagers on the whole to act responsibly puts themselves and others at an inordinate risk, then eventually the law will reflect that reality. In the meantime, it’s important that parents maintain strict control over their fledgling drivers, making sure that they understand the extra risks involved in driving as teenagers, and that they understand the consequences involved in reckless and foolish driving behavior – for themselves and for others.