Driving hundreds of miles in a day can be exhausting under the best of circumstances, but working long hours does not absolve truck drivers of their duty of care towards other people on the road with them. As a result, a trucker who breaches that duty by getting distracted behind the wheel and causes a wreck through their irresponsible actions can be held civilly liable for every negative effect that wreck will have on everyone involved.
As any experienced truck accident lawyer can tell you, though, getting a favorable case result in the wake of a distracted driving truck accident in Flagstaff can be far from simple, particularly if you try to do it alone. If you want a fair shot at compensation for the injuries you have unfairly sustained, you will almost certainly need the support of the capable and compassionate legal team at Phillips Law Group.
Common Forms of Distraction for Truck Drivers
In the tech-focused modern world, there is, unfortunately, no shortage of potential distractions for drivers on Arizona’s roads and highways, and many of those distractions are contained inside a single device. While state legislators have taken steps to expressly prohibit texting and driving for truck drivers and passenger car drivers alike, truckers can also split their attention with things like:
- Eating and drinking
- Personal grooming
- Reading a map or GPS display
- Reading a book or watching a video
- Changing a radio station or playlist
- Reaching for something in their passenger seat
- Talking over the radio or to someone else in the cab with them
It is also worth mentioning that overly fatigued truck drivers are generally more likely to let their minds wander behind the wheel, which can increase the risk of distracted driving truck wrecks in Flagstaff and across the entire Grand Canyon State. No matter what specifically a trucker was focused on besides the road, though, the fact that they were distracted in the first place qualifies as a breach of duty that, if it directly leads to a traffic wreck, could serve as grounds for a civil lawsuit or settlement demand.
Recovering Fairly Within Filing Deadlines
On that note, a comprehensive civil claim over a traffic accident in Flagstaff caused by a distracted truck driver can seek restitution for every form of harm the plaintiff filing the claim will ever experience due to their injuries. For example, this means it is possible to recover both the costs of emergency medical care received immediately after the accident and the expected costs of rehabilitative and maintenance care that will be needed in the future after the legal process concludes.
Especially in cases centered around permanent and debilitating injuries, it can be important as well to account for years’ worth of physical pain, psychological trauma, and a decline in quality of life. This all must be done well in advance of when these losses fully manifest, though, because of the two-year filing deadline set by the statute of limitations codified in Arizona Revised Statutes §12-542.
Talk to a Flagstaff Attorney About a Distracted Driving Truck Accident Lawsuit
Commercial truck drivers are supposed to be attentive behind the wheel just like people operating commuter cars, motorcycles, and even bicycles are. Unfortunately, it is far from uncommon for truckers to be distracted behind the wheel, which can—and all too often does—cause life-altering harm to people who were not doing anything wrong themselves.
You have help available with demanding fair financial restitution for damages caused by a distracted driving truck accident in Flagstaff. Call Phillips Law Group today to speak with one of our team members and discuss your legal options.
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