Distracted Driving Accident- Can a Text Message Prove Negligence in a Seguin, TX Car Crash?

One text message sent while driving can change lives forever when it results in a car crash. In Seguin, TX, proving that a driver was texting while driving establishes liability and provides evidence for your personal injury case.

Your lawyer will obtain and use proof of texting to help you receive maximum compensation under Texas law. Evidence collection is a strong point for the Seguin TX personal injury lawyers at Carabin Shaw, and we know how to collect the best evidence for your case. Call our toll-free number today at 800-862-1260, and speak to one of our English- or Spanish-speaking staff members to schedule a free consultation.

Texas Transportation Code prohibits texting while driving in Seguin, Texas unless:

• The driver texts with a hands-free device
• The text is necessary for an emergency situation
• The driver is acting in an official capacity (emergency personnel)

When investigating the accident, your lawyer will need to prove that the texting was an act of negligence. In general, distracted driving is negligent driving if it is unreasonable and harms another individual. Many other legal activities can also constitute distracted driving, such as eating or arguing with a passenger while at the wheel.

When a driver violates a specific law, the court may consider it negligence per se, which establishes it as unreasonable conduct. This is an advantage for your lawyer who won't have to prove that the act was unreasonable and can focus on the other elements of negligence, which are harm and causation. Understanding negligence makes it apparent why good evidence is essential to winning your case.

One of the benefits of text messages and other digital evidence is that they are timestamped, which means there is little room for argument about when a person was using their phone. An experienced Seguin distracted driving accident lawyer can easily prove this part of the timeline of events.

Phone evidence can come from a phone itself or from the mobile phone company. Official records from the carrier are unbiased and credible, but they don’t contain the content of messages, which your attorney can use to prove the intent of the text and the driver’s state of mind.

Privacy is a concern when accessing phone records, but Texas courts will allow it when relevant to proving negligence in a Texas car accident. Your attorney can subpoena phone records during the discovery process and use timestamped records of texting to prove that the texting happened while driving at the time of the accident.

Obtaining digital evidence can be a challenge for your Seguin TX car accident attorney if the defendant is not willing to hand over the phone. You can subpoena the phone carrier’s records, but the phone itself is subject to the will of the at-fault party, who may erase incriminating texts.

Locating and securing evidence is a skill in which the legal team at Carabin Shaw takes pride. Your attorney will contact the relevant companies and conduct a forensic recovery of deleted data to obtain the necessary information to prove your case. If chosen to assist with your case, our law firm may even interview the recipient of the text to get information. If the evidence exists, we’ll find it. Read our client reviews to find out more about our exceptional legal services.

The evidence you use to prove negligence will impact your texting and driving accident lawyer’s settlement negotiation and maximize your compensation. Once you can prove without a doubt that a text caused a car wreck, the at-fault party who texted is much more willing to settle for full damages and eliminate the cost of a lawsuit.

At Carabin Shaw, we are available 24/7 to help you begin your personal injury claim and get the compensation you deserve after a distracted driving accident. Texting and driving is a preventable hazard, and drivers should be held accountable for their negligence. At Carabin Shaw, we make it easy to pursue that accountability. We offer our services on a contingency-fee basis so that you can seek justice without the financial obligation of upfront legal fees.

For more information:

• Texas Statutes 545
• Cornell Law
• Texas Statutes 301