Reckless Driving Car Accident Lawyers

Reckless driving is a serious driving violation and can be punished by large fines and even jail time in many states. This is because reckless driving is the cause of 56% of all fatal accidents nationally. Reckless driving may involve speeding, sudden lane changes, or tailgating, all of which can lead to catastrophic car accidents.

When another party’s reckless driving injures you, you need Nix Patterson’s reckless driving car accident lawyers representing you and getting the most compensation for your injuries. Our attorneys have obtained millions in settlements and verdicts for many personal injury clients over the years.

What Is Reckless Driving?

Reckless driving means when someone operates a motor vehicle in a way that disregards the safety of others or disregards the consequences of their actions. Reckless driving is not mere negligence; it involves a conscious decision to risk harming others. It isn’t necessary to show that someone was hurt for reckless driving to occur. Just the act of endangering others is enough.

Common Causes of Reckless Driving

Most car accidents are caused by driver error, but many crashes are due to careless acts that constitute reckless driving. These drivers didn’t simply make a mistake or be inattentive; they disregarded others’ safety. The most common cause of reckless driving is speeding, followed by driving under the influence. These forms of reckless driving constitute 25% of all fatal US crashes. Other common causes of reckless driving are:

• Tailgating
• Sudden lane changes and passing in no-passing zones
• Sudden speed changes
• Not yielding the right of way
• Racing
• Driving in a prohibited area, such as on the median or shoulder
• Not obeying traffic laws near schools and construction zones

Reckless driving is a criminal violation in all states, so the driver could be charged with a misdemeanor for this type of driving. The police could arrest the driver in certain circumstances, such as driving far above the speed limit.

However, if you are hurt in a reckless driving accident, you will not seek justice through the criminal process. To obtain compensation, you must file a personal injury lawsuit to recover monetary damages. In some cases, you could even get punitive damages if the at-fault driver was highly reckless. Your Nix Patterson reckless driving car accident attorney can assist in determining the amount of compensation you might receive in your claim.

Common Injuries from Reckless Driving

Reckless driving accidents can cause devastating injuries that may have long-term or permanent impacts on your life. Some of the most common reckless driving auto accident injuries are:

Head Trauma

Head injuries can occur in reckless driving accidents, especially speeding. If a vehicle slams into your car at high speed, there is a good chance you could have a traumatic brain injury (TBI) or at least a mild or moderate concussion.

Neck Injuries

Whiplash is a common reckless driving injury that affects the soft tissues in the neck and shoulders. This injury happens when the vehicle hits you, and your head and neck snap back and forth in fractions of a second after impact. You could also suffer neck injuries affecting the discs, vertebrae, and spinal cord.

Back Injuries

In a severe car accident, your back could be wrenched and twisted in a crash. Or, a high-speed impact could fracture or shatter vertebrae in the back. Any of these injuries could damage the spinal discs or spinal cord. Even a minor back injury that sprains or strains back muscles could cause a severe disability that requires months of care and rehabilitation.

Broken Bones

In a significant auto accident, you could break many bones, including arms, legs, hands, feet, hips, wrists, ribs, etc. If ribs are shattered, the injury could threaten your life by damaging critical organs.

Internal Injuries

The violence of a reckless driving car accident can also severely damage critical internal organs and blood vessels. It is common for an injured motorist to think they are okay, but they could have internal bleeding that takes minutes or hours to show symptoms. This is why you should always be seen by a medical professional as soon as possible after an accident.

Proving Liability in Reckless Driving Accidents

If you were hurt in a reckless driving accident and have injuries, you might think it will be easy to get the negligent party’s insurance company to cover your damages. Not necessarily. It is common for the liable insurance company to deny liability even when the accident seems to be clearly their client’s fault. This can be extremely frustrating as medical bills pile up, and you could be out of work.

Fortunately, Nix Patterson’s reckless driving car accident lawyers are skilled at proving liability in reckless driving accidents: Evidence that your attorney will likely rely on to prove reliability:

• Police report. After any car accident, you should call the police to the scene. They will review the accident scene, talk to the drivers and witnesses, and create a police report. This report can be important evidence, especially if the other driver was cited.
• Information from the accident scene. A common piece of evidence in many reckless driving incidents is a lack of skid marks. This indicates that the driver was speeding, distracted, or otherwise reckless. If there were skid marks, accident reconstruction experts can determine the vehicle’s speed upon impact.
• Witness statements. If a driver was reckless in the accident, it is possible that another person witnessed it. Witness statements can be beneficial to prove fault in the crash.
• Picture and video evidence. You should take photos and videos of the scene after the crash. This evidence can be essential to prove liability in the accident. The police will need to move the vehicles eventually, so taking photos before they do so could be important for a claim.

Pursuing Compensation After a Reckless Driving Accident

A reckless driving accident can leave the victim with severe injuries, tens or hundreds of thousands in medical bills, lost earnings, and terrible pain and suffering. It can be virtually impossible for the injured party to pay for their medical care and routine daily expenses without the help of funds from a settlement or lawsuit. Your reckless driving car accident attorney will fight for the most compensation for your injuries. Some compensation you could receive are:

• Current and future medical bills include ER care, ambulance rides, surgery, physical therapy, medical supplies and equipment, and getting to and from appointments
• Lost earnings for the time you lost because of injuries
• The ability to earn a living is lost if you cannot go back to work or do the same level of work
• Physical pain and suffering
• Emotional pain and mental anguish because of the severity of your injuries
• Loss of consortium or the ability to have an intimate relationship with your partner
• Physical impairment
• Disfigurement

In limited cases, you also could receive punitive damages if the other driver was grossly negligent or acted with malice. For example, you might receive punitive damages if a drunk driver deliberately ran you over in a crosswalk.

How Much Can You Get in a Reckless Driving Accident Lawsuit?

How much you can receive in a reckless driving accident claim depends on many factors. You should add up your economic damages, which are expenses for medical bills, future medical expenses, and lost earnings. The amount of your pain and suffering compensation can vary widely. However, it is common to multiply economic damages by 1-5, which would be your pain and suffering compensation. The insurance company may use another method to determine pain and suffering compensation.

Factors that may influence the amount of your reckless driving accident settlement are:

• The severity of your injuries. Someone with head trauma and damaged spinal discs will have more compensation than someone with a broken arm or leg. Also, you will receive more money if you require surgery or extensive hospital stays.
• How much the vehicle was damaged. If the car has minor damage, you will receive less than if it is totaled.
• Liability. If the other party was reckless and 100% at fault, you will receive more compensation than if you were partially to blame. Also, if the at-fault driver was working during the accident, commercial insurance would likely be in effect, which has higher limits than personal insurance policies.
• The skill and experience of your reckless driving car accident attorney. An attorney with years of impressive settlement and trial results will often get you more money than an inexperienced lawyer.

Speak to a Nix Patterson Reckless Driving Car Accident Lawyer

Whether it was because of speeding, tailgating, sudden lane changes, or something else, reckless driving is inexcusable and leads to many severe accidents. If you were hurt in a reckless driving accident, you should not have to pay for your own injuries and related losses.

Let Nix Patterson’s reckless driving car accident lawyers take the lead and get you the money you deserve. Just contact our attorneys today for a free reckless driving accident consultation.