What to Do After a Colorado Distracted Driving Accident

Denver Car Accident Attorney 

Video Transcript:

Samantha Pryor: 

You can certainly establish liability there, and like I said, it often takes having to file a lawsuit unless there is other evidence like an admission, which is usually not the case.

Rob Rosenthal: 

If you're in a car crash and you suspect the other driver was texting or otherwise distracted while driving, how can you prove it? How can you get help? We're gonna find out right now on this episode of Ask The Lawyer. My guest is Denver attorney Samantha Pryor. I wanna remind you right up front, if you wanna ask Samantha questions about your situation, it's easy. Go to askthelawyers.com, click the button up at the top, that says, Ask A Lawyer, a very simple process right there, or you can always call the phone number you'll see on the screen during our conversation. Samantha, it's always good to see you. Thank you for making some time to help us out.

Samantha Pryor: 

It's great to be here, thanks for having me.

Rob Rosenthal: 

So Samantha, even though texting while driving and distracted driving, it's illegal, and people should know better by now, apparently they don't. It seems like this is still a problem. Have you seen that in your practice? How big of a problem is distracted driving?

Samantha Pryor: 

Yes, unfortunately, distracted driving is a huge problem, and people are not only texting, but they're also looking at other apps and doing other things on their phones. So what happens all the time, in fact, we don't even call it accidents anymore, we call it car crashes because there's so many distracted drivers, so it's not necessarily an accident, it's just that they're not paying attention to the road. They're paying attention to their phones and so we're seeing that quite often, and it's not always that easy to prove that they're a distracted driver.

Rob Rosenthal: 

So that was gonna be my next question. Let's say I'm in an accident, I'm injured, I think the other driver was distracted, texting, whatever. How do we prove it? How can someone like yourself prove that?

Samantha Pryor: 

So yes, it is not easy to prove that someone is a distracted driver. A lot of times you'll be forced to file a lawsuit in order to get the type of evidence that you need to prove that someone was a distracted driver. So for example, when you first are involved in an accident, you are getting treatment and going through the claims process. So through that process, you're not always given the type of records that you need to prove that the driver was distracted, and so oftentimes, like I said, you're gonna have to file a lawsuit and either that that the information will be produced or you'll have to request that information through the discovery process, and often times through a subpoena.

Rob Rosenthal: 

So as far as getting phone records or something like that, that's not something a person can just do on their own, call up AT&T and get the other person's phone records.

Samantha Pryor: 

Correct. Unfortunately, if someone wants the phone records of a distracted driver, they're going to have to institute a legal action, 'cause oftentimes, the distracted driver is not going to give those records up voluntarily, and so you'll need to file a lawsuit in order to have the court's assistance or at least have a pending civil action in order for either an attorney on your behalf or a self-represented person to issue a subpoena to gather those records. Now, of course, it is always best to have a lawyer represent injured folks in court, just because we understand how to navigate the system and understand how the laws apply, but as a general matter, yes, you will need to have a court... Civil action in order for you to issue a subpoena.

Rob Rosenthal: 

How much of a difference does it make, Samantha, if say I brought a lawsuit or with the insurance company, if I can prove the other driver was distracted, just is that worth paying a lawyer to help them? Does it make that much of a difference?

Samantha Pryor: 

I think it can definitely make a difference by having an attorney because the attorney should know how to obtain the appropriate records, and it can make a significant difference in terms of liability, because in order for you to prove a claim or a negligence claim against a distracted driver, you're gonna have to show that it was the other party's fault, and if you can show that the party was distracted either by looking at other apps or using the cellphone, then you can certainly establish liability there, and like I said, it often takes having to file a lawsuit, unless there is other evidence like an admission, which is usually not the case.

Rob Rosenthal: 

Right, right. A really helpful information, Samantha, thank you so much for making some time to answer our questions.

Samantha Pryor: 

You're welcome. Thank you so much for having me.

Rob Rosenthal: 

And that's gonna do it for this episode of Ask The Lawyer. My guest has been Denver attorney Samantha Pryor and I remind you again, if you'd like to ask Samantha questions about your situation, go to askthelawyers.com, click the button up at the top that says Ask A Lawyer, and they'll walk you right through the process, doesn't cost you anything to ask your questions. Thanks for watching. I'm Rob Rosenthal with Ask the Lawyers.

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