Virginia Personal Injury Lawyers Must Know How to Link Texting to Accidents

I have previously written about the dangers of texting while driving, but the latest news from the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) provides more tragic proof of the reality of these dangers.

The NTSB is investigating the recent Los Angeles Metrolink commuter train crash, which resulted in 25 deaths and 128 people injured. According to recent reports, it is suspected that the engineer of the train was text messaging when the train ran a stop signal and crashed into an oncoming freight train.

Virginia personal injury/accident lawyers also have the ability to prove a driver who caused an accident was texting.

At the beginning of a lawsuit, lawyers can simply issue a subpoena for the driver's cell phone records from the provider by obtaining the driver's cell phone number.

Diligent Virginia injury lawyers should also be sure to ask whether the person accused of causing the accident has a work phone or uses more than one phone. If so, these providers should also be subpoenaed.

Also, Virginia accident attorneys should inquire as to whether the driver suspected of causing the accident has a blackberry device in addition to his/her phone. If so, these records should be obtained.

Further, an experienced Virginia accident lawyer will inquire about passengers in the car of the person accused of causing the accident and obtain their cell phone information as well.

It is a well-known fact that drivers frequently text "through" passengers' devices by "dictating" messages to their passengers to be sent.

All of these cell phone records will demonstrate the time each text message was sent or received, as well as the same type of information for telephone calls. These records may also prove that the at-fault driver was on the job at the time of the wreck, which could permit a claim against that driver's employer. As we all know, many employers provide cell phones and/or blackberry devices to workers and do not limit their use to just normal working hours.

If a driver caused a catastrophic automobile accident because he had his eyes and hands on his cell phone instead of the road or was otherwise distracted by passengers texting or talking on their phones, then Virginia personal injury attorneys can build a substantially better case for their clients using cell phone records as evidence to prove the other driver's negligence.

Is your Virginia accident lawyer doing this in your case?