Accidents happen every day, and they’re usually the result of simple careless driving, like going a little above the speed limit or not paying attention as closely as one should. However, reckless driving is on the rise and involves more intentional risks to safety. If you were a victim of a reckless driver, you may have rising costs for things like medical bills. Yet, these cases can be complicated because of how high the damages are and how difficult it can be to prove reckless driving. That’s why you should hire a car accident attorney for your case. They can help you throughout your case with legal advice and fighting your case on your behalf.
If you were in an accident, get in touch now for a free consultation with our attorneys.
Talk to a Car Accident Attorney if You Were Injured by a Reckless Driver
After any accident, it helps to discuss your options for compensation with an experienced car accident attorney. However, since reckless driving crashes can be so devastating and difficult to win, it’s even more important. Getting a consult will give you insight into your legal options after an accident. It also gives you time to understand exactly how an attorney can help you and allows you to get to know the person.
These conversations are protected, so you don’t need to worry about anyone finding out what you said during the meeting (unless you tell them yourself). Also, we offer a free, no-obligation case evaluation, so you’re not on the hook if you decide not to hire us. The consult is the time to discuss the details of your case with a legal professional so you can decide how to proceed. This is especially important if the other driver was driving recklessly.
What is Reckless Driving? How Does My Car Accident Attorney Prove Reckless Driving?
Right about now, you might be wondering whether your case involved reckless driving. After all, what exactly is reckless driving? And, is there any way to prove it for your case? Let’s talk about these common questions and how they pertain to your car accident claim.
Reckless Driving – Putting Others At Risk
Reckless driving is a type of driving that is against the law. The laws vary from state to state, but in Texas, reckless driving is defined as driving “… a vehicle in wilful or wanton disregard for the safety of persons or property.”
So, what does this mean? Basically, it’s more than simple negligence, which is usually something akin to carelessness. Instead, reckless driving is quite close to actually intentionally harming people by driving dangerously. It’s basically driving in a way that you know not only could cause harm, but is likely to. That’s the problem with reckless driving – it often results in serious accidents with severe injuries and major property damages.
Examples of Reckless Driving
There are any number of ways to drive recklessly, but there are some common ones that you might see on the road every day. Some examples of reckless driving include:
- Passing in a lane with oncoming traffic
- Speeding significantly over the speed limit
- Speeding in unsafe road conditions
- Weaving through traffic
- Racing
- Running red lights
- Running stop signs
- Driving while intoxicated
- Evading police
- Texting while driving
- Passing a stopped school bus
In some cases, reckless driving can also involve road rage where the driver does things like intentionally tailgates closely, brake checks drivers behind them, intentionally cuts them off, or even runs other cars off the road.
All of these behaviors can be reckless driving because they put people in danger and most drivers know (or should know) just how dangerous they are. Yet, many people do these things anyway, despite the dangers to themselves and others.
Proving Reckless Driving for your Car Accident Case
So, how is it possible to prove reckless driving for your case? This depends on the specifics of your situation, but there are several ways your Houston car accident lawyer may work to prove reckless driving in your case.
It’s important to note that reckless driving isn’t just a common cause of accidents, it’s also a crime. In many cases, police that respond to the scene of the accident may issue the driver a ticket for reckless driving or for the other things they did as part of reckless driving, like speeding. These tickets are separate from your personal injury case, but can be used as evidence. So, for instance, your car accident attorney may use the ticket as evidence that the other person was driving recklessly at the time of the accident.
Other options exist even if they didn’t get ticketed for their dangerous driving behaviors. For instance, getting witness testimony and checking for footage of the accident. Essentially, any evidence that can show what the driver was doing before the accident can be helpful.
Why You Need a Car Accident Attorney for Reckless Driving Personal Injury Cases
There are a few different reasons it makes sense to hire a car accident attorney for your case as a victim of reckless driving. The first is that many drivers (and their insurance companies) will try to argue that you share at least some fault. The reason for this is because of Texas’ comparative fault laws. These basically state that anyone who is more than 50% at fault for an accident can’t recover any compensation.
However, even if you share less than 50% of the blame, your compensation will be reduced. For instance, if you ask for $10,000 in damages for a car accident and the other driver is 90% at fault and you’re 10% at fault, usually you’d receive 10% less than what you’re owed. With these numbers, you would instead receive $9,000 because that’s 10% less than $10,000. Your attorney can help you argue against shared fault for your case.
Additionally, a lot of reckless driving crashes result in really severe accidents and property damage. This means that you may have really high expenses that you need compensation for. Any time there are a large number of damages, this complicates the case. For one, people are more willing to fight against paying larger amounts of money, even when they’re at fault. Also, often insurance maximums kick in, which means that the insurance will only pay you a certain amount even if your damages exceed it. If this happens in your case, then you need to seek additional compensation from the driver or other at-fault party (like their employer if they were on the clock during their reckless driving escapades).
Types of Damages in Reckless Driving Crashes
There may be several different types of damages available in your case. Damages are essentially the legal term for types of compensation. Talk to your personal injury attorney about which ones apply for your specific case, but possible ones include:
- Medical expenses
- Lost wages
- Property damage
- Pain and suffering
- Emotional damages
- Punitive damages
Reckless driving cases are often one of the few where you can seek punitive damages. Punitive damages are usually reserved for the worst types of behavior and designed to punish the other driver. Talk to your car accident attorney about if it applies in your case, but reckless driving is often at least grounds to ask for them.
Maida Law Firm – Top Car Accident Attorney in Houston
If you need an experienced attorney for your car accident case, contact our team at Maida Law Firm. Our team of attorneys offer years of experience fighting car accident cases of all types and are here to help you get maximum compensation. If we don’t win your case, then you owe us nothing for our services. Contact us now to schedule a free case evaluation.