Whenever you share the bustling New Jersey roads with other drivers, you put a lot of trust into their driving capabilities. But most unfortunately, it may be beyond your reasonable control when a neighboring driver is operating their motor vehicle carelessly or recklessly. Subsequently, you may find yourself unable to avoid a collision with them. If this sounds similar to your case, please continue reading to learn when a reckless driving claim is considered justifiable and how an experienced Morris County, New Jersey auto accident lawyer at the Macri Law Firm can help you prove this as a contributing cause of your incident.
What is considered reckless driving in a car accident claim?
By its general definition, reckless driving is considered to be driving in a dangerous manner that ignores the rules and regulations of the road and that, in turn, endangers others on the road. If a law enforcement officer is not around or is too late to pull over a reckless driver, they may likely cause a car accident. With that being said, you may have been made the victim of reckless driving in any of the following ways:
- A reckless driver may have been behind the wheel while heavily under the influence of drugs or alcohol.
- A reckless driver may have been using their vehicle even with known mechanical issues.
- A reckless driver may have been aggressive and excessively tailgated during traffic jams.
- A reckless driver may have been missing traffic signs and signals while texting or looking at a handheld device.
- A reckless driver may have been speeding or heavily braking to intimidate other drivers to move out of the way.
How do I prove that reckless driving caused my car accident?
It is one thing to claim reckless driving, but it is another thing to prove it with tangible evidence. This is to say that, as the plaintiff of a car accident claim, you carry the burden of proof in establishing that the defendant’s reckless driving directly caused you to be made the victim of a collision, and incur serious injuries and damages soon afterward.
For this reason, it is always encouraged to call law enforcement onto the scene of your accident. This is because they may conduct an official accident report that includes their expert opinion on who or what caused the event. Specifically, as an example, if you suspect that drugs or alcohol were involved, an officer may conduct a breathalyzer test and field sobriety tests to confirm it.
Aside from an officer, eyewitnesses may also offer valuable statements about how the accident event went down. So, if you believe the defendant was texting was driving, your witnesses may claim that they indeed saw their cell phone in their hand or their head down in the moments leading up to your collision. Also using this example, your lawyer may obtain a court order or subpoena to access their phone records to get timestamps that establish they were texting at the time of the accident event.
If you have gotten this far, we now ask you to reach out to a skilled Parsippany, New Jersey personal injury lawyer to schedule an initial consultation. Overall, we strongly encourage you to retain legal representation from the Macri Law Firm for your upcoming civil claim.
