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Distracted driving can cause a serious crash in a matter of seconds. For an injured person, however, knowing that another driver appeared distracted and proving it are two different things. A driver may deny texting, checking an app, eating, adjusting a navigation system, or doing anything else that took their attention away from the road.
When a distracted driving accident occurs in Fort Worth, gathering the right evidence can be critical to establishing what happened and who was responsible. At Barrow Law PLLC, we help injured people investigate serious crashes and pursue claims against negligent drivers throughout Fort Worth and Texas.
A personal injury claim generally requires evidence connecting another party’s negligence to the accident and resulting injuries. In a distracted driving case, part of that investigation may involve determining what the driver was doing immediately before the collision.
Some distractions are obvious. A witness might see a driver looking down at a phone before running a red light. Other distractions can be much harder to establish.
Evidence becomes particularly important when the drivers provide conflicting accounts of what happened. A distracted driver may insist that the injured person caused the collision or claim that there was no way to avoid the crash.
Our Fort Worth distracted driving accident attorneys can investigate available evidence and determine how it may support an injury claim.
Cellphone evidence can be particularly valuable when texting or device use is suspected.
Depending on the circumstances, records and other digital information may help establish whether a driver was communicating or using certain functions around the time of a crash. Relevant evidence could potentially involve calls, messages, app activity, or other electronic data.
The timing matters. If electronic activity corresponds closely with the time of the collision, it may help establish that the driver's attention was divided.
However, obtaining cellphone information is not always as simple as asking the other driver to turn over their phone. Legal procedures may be necessary to seek relevant records, particularly when the driver disputes using a device.
This is one reason contacting an attorney promptly after a serious distracted driving accident in Fort Worth can be important.
People who witnessed the accident may have noticed details that the injured person could not see.
Another motorist, pedestrian, passenger, cyclist, or nearby worker may have observed the driver looking down, holding a cellphone, drifting between lanes, or otherwise behaving unusually before the crash.
Useful witness observations may include:
Witnesses can be particularly valuable when their accounts are independent of either driver involved in the collision.
If possible, obtaining names and contact information at the scene can make it easier to locate those witnesses later.
Fort Worth roads, intersections, parking lots, and businesses may be covered by cameras. In some distracted driving cases, video footage can provide valuable evidence of how the collision occurred.
Possible sources include:
Video may show the vehicle's movement immediately before impact, whether the driver reacted to a hazard, or even whether the driver appeared to be looking away from the road.
Some video systems overwrite recordings after a relatively short period. Identifying and preserving footage quickly can therefore be an important part of investigating a Fort Worth distracted driving accident.
A police report may contain information that helps establish the circumstances surrounding a collision.
The responding officer may document statements from the drivers and witnesses, vehicle positions, apparent traffic violations, roadway conditions, and other observations from the scene.
In some cases, a driver may even admit to looking at a phone, GPS device, passenger, or another distraction before the collision.
A police report does not necessarily resolve every dispute about liability. It can, however, provide an important starting point for a broader investigation.
Photographs taken after a collision can preserve physical details that disappear once vehicles are moved and the roadway is cleared.
Useful photographs may show:
Vehicle damage can sometimes help establish the angle and force of impact. Combined with other evidence, accident-scene photographs may help explain how the collision occurred.
People injured in Fort Worth should only take photographs themselves when they can safely do so. Medical needs should always come first.
Modern vehicles may contain electronic systems capable of recording information associated with a crash.
Depending on the vehicle and circumstances, available data may provide information concerning speed, braking, acceleration, or other vehicle activity before impact. This evidence can become particularly useful when a driver claims to have reacted differently than the physical evidence suggests.
For example, a driver who was distracted may fail to brake until immediately before impact. Vehicle data, physical evidence, and witness testimony could collectively help investigators understand what occurred.
Commercial vehicles may contain additional electronic information, making preservation of records especially important when a distracted-driving crash involves a truck or other company vehicle.
Cellphone records are not the only form of digital evidence that may matter.
Social media activity, photographs, messages, application data, and other electronic information may potentially provide clues about what a driver was doing around the time of a crash.
For example, a timestamped social media post created immediately before a collision could warrant further investigation. The usefulness of any particular digital record will depend on the facts and whether it can reliably be connected to the driver and the accident.
An attorney can evaluate which forms of electronic evidence may be worth pursuing rather than relying on speculation.
Some of the strongest evidence in a distracted driving case may not remain available indefinitely. Witnesses can become difficult to locate, surveillance footage can be overwritten, vehicles can be repaired, and electronic records may become more difficult to obtain.
That makes early investigation particularly important.
Someone injured in a Fort Worth crash does not need to personally track down every piece of evidence. An attorney can investigate the accident, identify potential sources of information, communicate with insurance companies, and take appropriate steps to preserve evidence relevant to the claim.
If you are dealing with injuries caused by a distracted driver in Fort Worth, our attorneys are here to help. Barrow Law PLLC represents people injured in distracted driving accidents and other serious motor vehicle collisions throughout Fort Worth and Texas.
Call us today at (817) 617-7797 or connect with us online to schedule a free consultation.
