Distracted Driving Accident Attorney St. Clair, MO

Distracted Driving Accident Attorney in St. Clair, MO. If a distracted driver injured you or someone you care about, you need to talk to a distracted driving attorney now. At Burger Law, we have a team of devoted and skilled St. Clair, MO distracted driving accident attorneys that will fight by your side, hold the at-fault party accountable for your injuries and demand that you get the recovery you deserve to assist you while you heal. Call us today at (314) 500-HURT or contact us online for a free case review.

We all have to play by the rules of the road to make sure that we, our passengers and everyone else on the St. Clair, MO roads are safe. When another person breaks those rules, drives thoughtlessly and does not pay attention while they are behind the wheel, they put you and the people you love directly at peril. You should not have to lose wages, pay excessive medical fees and deal with painful and restrictive injuries as a consequence of someone else’s negligence, and you deserve to receive full compensation for their thoughtless actions.

The distracted driving attorneys at Burger Law have seen every sort of distracted driving case, and we have the experience, shrewdness and tenacity to get you complete compensation for your injuries from your St. Clair, MO distracted driving accident. We handle all communication, documentation and litigation for you so you can concentrate on healing from your injuries. We fight in your corner and do not ask for any legal fees until we have won your case and helped you recover the financial recovery you are entitled to. Call us today at (314) 500-HURT for a free case review with a professional St. Clair, MO distracted driving accident attorney. We get to work on on your case immediately.

Distracted Driving Statistics

We have certainly all observed distracted drivers on the street, and you may even have done it yourself. That said, much of the information we have about distracted driving is even more startling. The Missouri Coalition for Roadway Safety estimates that nearly 9 in 10 drivers use their phones in some way while behind the wheel, and cell phone related crashes climbed by 30 percent between 2014 and 2018. In Missouri, there were 408 deaths in distracted driving cases from 2016 to 2020, and thousands more people have been hurt. In 2017, Missouri officially attributed 21,058 accidents to distracted drivers, which far surpasses the total drunk driving accidents (5,321) and is higher than speed-related accidents (19,535).

Missouri Revised Statutes §304.820 outlaws cell phone use while driving, but only for people who are 21 years of age or less or commercial drivers, in spite of the fact that seven out of ten accidents caused by cell phone usage were over 21 years old. As a matter of fact, nearly one out of four drivers in distracted driving accidents are between the ages of 20 and 29. Although new legislation has been a hot topic in the state government lately, Missouri is still only one of two states that does not have a no texting law for drivers of all ages and there are no other distracted driving laws in the state. This can make St. Clair, MO roads especially hazardous for St. Clair, MO drivers, passengers and pedestrians. That is why it is important to know that the distracted driving accident attorneys at Burger Law are here for you and will fight by your side if a distracted driver hurts you.

While the letter of the law may not hold every driver accountable, you can be assured that the distracted driving accident attorneys at Burger Law will. Despite the fact that texting while driving is not against the law in St. Clair, MO, a careless driver can still be found liable for any injuries you suffer. Driving distracted still breaks our safety, requiring St. Clair, MO road users to act in a way that is safe. As your St. Clair, MO distracted driving accident attorney, the Burger Law legal team has helped hundreds of individuals and families in St. Clair, MO no longer have complete control of the vehicle. Even if one hand is still on the wheel, a driver’s reaction time is significantly lowered. Some examples of common manual distractions include:

• Texting, talking, or using your phone in different manner
• Eating or drinking
• Adjusting the radio or temperature
• Changing clothes, taking off a coat, putting on makeup, combing your hair or other “grooming” activities
• Getting something out of your purse, wallet, or pocket

Visual Distractions

These are distractions that cause you to taking your eyes off the road. Sometimes visual and manual distractions coincide. Some examples are:

• Looking at a GPS device, map, or otherwise looking at directions
• Looking at another passenger or in the backseat
• Looking around instead of ahead, such as at a roadside attraction, sign, or crash
• Looking at your phone
• Looking in the mirror and checking your appearance

Cognitive Distractions

These happen when something causes a driver to take their mind off the road. These can be dangerous because while it may appear that someone is driving properly, they are still not focusing or as alert as they should be. They can be:

• Concentrating too much on an audiobook or song
• Daydreaming
• Paying too much attention to a conversation with someone else in the vehicle or on a hands-free device
• Being stressed out or preoccupied with other things
• Other passengers, such as kids or pets, need something or need to be disciplined

As you might notice, cell phones are a main cause of distracted driving accidents because they can result in manual, visual and cognitive distractions. When you drive, it is important to eschew your phone so you do not cause a distracted driving accident. If you experienced injuries because another St. Clair, MO driver was distracted and behaved recklessly, call the distracted driving attorneys at Burger Law and we will get started on your case right away. We will stay committed to you and your case until you get the full compensation you are owed. We insist on a full recovery for your distracted driving accident damages.

How to Prove a Distracted Driving Case

While you may or may not have seen that the other person was a clearly distracted driver, it can be difficult to demonstrate beyond doubt to a resistant St. Clair, MO insurance company or in a court of law. A skilled, committed and diligent distracted driving accident attorney like those at Burger Law will be able to prove the at-fault driver was distracted. Below is some of the evidence you could present and how your distracted driving accident attorney can leverage it to prove your claim and insist on your maximum recovery.

The Scene of the Accident. If you can, react quickly after you have been in a distracted driving accident and accumulate evidence at the scene of the crash. This can include pictures of both vehicles and the area surrounding the accident. The majority of drivers will try to turn sharply or break quickly before causing a wreck. If there are no tire or brake marks, it could help show that the driver who crashed into you was not concentrated on the road. This is why it is important to take pictures of the area if you can. Surveillance video in which the other driver did not turn or brake could also help your suit. The St. Clair, MO distracted driving accident attorneys at Burger Law will procure any video evidence and diligently review any photographs or other evidence.

Eyewitness Accounts.The more people who say they saw that the other driver was visibly distracted, the stronger your case will be. If other people witnessed the accident and noticed that the other driver was eating, texting or not concentrating on the road ahead, they can provide official statements to back your suit. If you hire Burger Law, your St. Clair, MO distracted driving accident attorney and legal team will conduct depositions and obtain official statements on your behalf. You just need to make sure you get any witnesses’ contact information at the scene.

Social Media Activity. If the other driver made a tweet, responded to a picture on Instagram or performed some other action on a social media app in the moments leading up to the wreck, it almost definitely means they were distracted by their phone. Your Burger Law distracted driving accident lawyer will take care of acquiring this information to help your case.

The Distracted Driver’s Cell Phone Records. Even if there is no social media trail, the thoughtless driver’s cell phone company will have usage reports detailing whether or not they were on their phone when the accident happened. If the driver was texting, there will be proof of it. A savvy distracted driving accident attorney will subpoena those records to help win your claim.

Use the Police Reports. Police officers are taught to analyze accidents and decide who was at fault. If the St. Clair, MO police officer at the scene judged the other motorist was distracted and was responsible for the accident, it will go a long way towards convincing a judge, jury or resistant insurance company that you deserve to be compensated for your injuries.

Use a Crash Expert. Crash experts have years of experience in examining all available evidence and deciding fault in car accidents. Burger Law’s group of distracted driving accident lawyers has a great network of St. Clair, MO experts we trust and work with to ensure you get the best possible compensation for your injuries.

Hire Burger Law. Our devoted and skilled distracted driving accident attorneys love taking on hard cases to get our clients the recovery they are owed. With decades of combined experience, we have seen every category of distracted driving accident and have won our clients over $170 million in verdicts and settlements for their injuries. We stand up to bullies like resistant insurance companies and help get you back on the journey to recovery. Your Burger Law distracted driving accident lawyer will manage all official communication and litigation, and you do not owe us any fees until you get the compensation you are entitled to. Call us today at (314) 500-HURT or contact us online for a complimentary consultation, and we will start working on winning your case immediately.

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How to Avoid Being a Distracted Driver

While Missouri’s distracted driving laws may not be as tough on distracted driving as we are, you should still use extreme caution any time you get behind the wheel. There are a number of steps you can take to ensure the safety of yourself, your passengers, other drivers and other pedestrians.

Eat before you leave. While doing two things at once can seem like a useful time-saver, it can also cause unnecessary dangers on the road. Taking a few extra minutes to eat before driving can help keep you and others safe.

Get ready before you leave. Similar to eating on the road, putting on makeup or getting dressed while driving may save time, but considerably increases your chances of personal injury or hurting another person.

Know where you are going. Review directions beforehand so you will not have to focus on your phone when you are driving. While driving, turn the volume up on any GPS device so you will be able to hear the directions. Alternatively, if you have a passenger, have them take care of the directions so you can keep your eyes on the road ahead.

If you are fatigued, pull over or let someone else drive. Not only are you risking falling asleep at the wheel, but drowsiness increases the risk of an accident by almost four times, and over a third of drivers have admitted to nodding off or falling asleep while driving at least once in their lives.

Make adjustments before getting on the road. Adjust the seat, mirrors, heat or AC, music and sound system before you take the car out of park. You need to have your complete concentration on the road while you are driving.

Secure children and pets. Looking at or reaching to the backseat or passenger seat can cause a manual, visual and cognitive distraction. If something happens and they need your attention, the best thing to do pull over to the side of the road.

Keep your eyes on the road. Your entire concentration should be on the road ahead of you and your mirrors so that you can see other drivers and pedestrians. While that brightly colored restaurant may look interesting, taking a moment to admire it is not worth danger you could pose to yourself and others.

Unfortunately, you can do everything right when you are in the driver's seat and you or a loved one can still be hurt because another driver broke the rules of the road. When that occurs, you need to reach out to the distracted driving accident lawyers of Burger Law right away so we can use our expertise and experience to help you get the best possible recovery and start to make you whole again. We know distracted driving accident claims, we know how to win them and we know how to insist on maximum compensation for the harm the thoughtless driver caused you.

The St. Clair, MO lawyers of Burger Law have the experience and knowledge to help you receive the full recovery you deserve after any accident or injury caused by someone else leaves you injured. Learn more about our fields of expertise below.

• Survival Action Lawyer in Missouri
• Truck Crash Lawyers in Missouri
• Semi-Truck Accident Lawyer in Missouri

Hire the Distracted Driving Lawyers at Burger Law Today

If you or a loved one has been hurt because someone else disregarded the rules of the road and acted carelessly, you are owed full compensation for your damages. The St. Clair, MO distracted driving accident attorneys at Burger Law hold reckless drivers accountable and stand up to resistant insurance companies who are more concerned about their bottom line than being fair to you. We have the experience, insight, work ethic and persistence to fight in your corner from beginning to end, to win your case and to get you the full recovery to help you protect you and your loved ones' future. If another St. Clair, MO driver was distracted and caused your injuries or the injuries of a loved one, you should not have to deal with the responsibility of medical expenses, lost wages or lost future earnings, pain and suffering and mental anguish. Call us today a (314) 500-HURT or contact us online for a free consultation and to learn more about what Burger Law will do to get you back on your feet and make you whole again.