How Does Distracted Driving Cause Car Accidents?

 Posted on October 20, 2022 in Car Accidents

Distractions and driving, especially when ghosts and goblins are roaming the streets for Halloween, can be a scary combination. It can lead to more than a traffic violation. It can spark a car accident and you could end up seriously injured. If you were recently hurt or lost a loved one in a Barrington car accident or truck accident, contact a personal injury attorney for help. 

Types of Distracted Driving

Anytime you are driving and doing something else that causes you to move your hands off

the steering wheel or keep your eyes on the road, that is considered distracted driving. The following three categories of distracted driving are common: 

• Visual: Looking at your radio, GPS, something on the side of the road,

or reading a text     

• Manual: Eating or reaching for something you dropped

• Cognitive: Daydreaming or having an argument 

In 2020, there were 246,835 vehicle accidents in Illinois and nearly 4 percent of those crashes involved distracted driving.

Serious Injuries From Distracted Driving

Collisions can cause a variety of injuries. Sometimes you may not feel the symptoms until days after the accident. The discomfort may not manifest itself right away but it is important that you do not ignore what your body is telling you and seek medical attention right away. These are some of the more serious car accident injuries that result from distracted driving accidents:

• Back Injuries – Pain that radiates from the back to the legs can signal a spinal injury

• Brain trauma – Head trauma can result in brain damage, strokes, brain bleeds, and other life-changing conditions

• Burn injuries – Burns are very painful and require lifetime treatment, sometimes including plastic surgery and rehabilitation

• Amputations – Irreversible catastrophic injuries such as limb loss

• Broken bones – Many body parts break on impact; the most common are broken ankles and arms that sometimes require surgery

Depending on the type of collision, you can experience intestinal damage and internal bleeding and not even know it because often symptoms can take longer to appear. For example, a brain bleed could easily be confused with a really bad headache. It is very important that you seek medical treatment after a car accident because you never know when an injury can lead to chronic medical problems down the line. It is essential to document injuries so you can get a full recovery in a personal injury insurance negotiation or lawsuit. 

Contact a Cook County Car Accident Lawyer

If you have been injured in a car accident due to someone’s distracted driving, our Barrington car accident attorneys will try to help you recover compensation. Call 224-900-HURT for a free consultation. At Barrington Injury Attorneys we know that being injured in an accident can be a frightening ordeal but we will do everything we can to help.

Sources: 

https://idot.illinois.gov/Assets/uploads/files/Transportation-System/Reports/Safety/HSP/IL_FY22_HSP.pdf

https://www.cdc.gov/transportationsafety/distracted_driving/index.html