The Sun Sentinel is reporting that a Miami-Dade jury has awarded $8.8 million to a family of a mother killed during a texting while driving automobile crash. In 2008, the descendant was a passenger in a vehicle which was driven by her husband. The coupled traveled eastbound on Bird Road when the Defendant, then 17-year-old Luis Cruz-Govin, drove a Subaru and slammed into their vehicle. The impact of the collision resulted in the death of Myriam del Socorro at the scene of the accident and her husband, Willis Torres, sustained serious internal injuries, including substantial abdominal bleeding and a laceration from his chest to his stomach. Further, evidence presented in this case revealed that the teenager traveled at a speed between 61 and 69 miles per hour (mph) in a 40 mph zone and that he had sent an outgoing text message at 8:19 p.m… Paramedics were called to the scene at 8:21.
Govin was charged with speeding and reckless driving. He was sentenced to pay a $2,000 fine, a six-month license suspension and had to complete a court-ordered advanced driving course. Our Fort Lauderdale automobile accident attorneys believe that texting while driving is distracted driving that causes serious injuries and deaths. We wish that motor vehicle operators recognize the grave nature of this activity while driving and the lasting impact it has on the injured parties and their families when someone is seriously hurt or killed as a result. Perhaps, our Florida legislature in the upcoming legislative session will follow the recent recommendations of the National Transportation Safety Board to the government, and ban the use of cell phones and texting devices during driving in Florida. Currently, the state of Florida does not have any restrictions placed on texting while driving, despite there being accidents in which texting while driving was a significant factor involved in a crash that injured or killed someone.
Moreover, in its 2009 study of distracted drivers of commercial vehicles, the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute concluded that “texting should be banned in moving vehicles for all drivers”. Additionally, the study’s preliminary findings revealed that when a driver texts for 6 seconds, he or she is actually looking at their cell phone for 4.6 seconds of that time. As Fort Lauderdale personal injury attorneys hired to represent individuals who have been seriously hurt in a motor vehicle collision, or are a family member who has lost someone who was killed as a result of distracted driving incident, we gather and investigate all the facts and evidence to prove that the other driver was negligent. We will even subpoena cell phone records to present as evidence to support our client’s claims and establish the liability of the other driver.
It is always best to contact a Fort Lauderdale car accident lawyer if you have suffered a personal injury during a distracted driving crash. You may have a legal claim and may be able to recover damages for your personal injuries and property damages which were caused by the negligence of the other driver.
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