Aggressive drivers are a danger to anyone near them on the road. According to the Insurance Information Institute, aggressive driving is a leading cause of car accidents and is responsible for many yearly car crash fatalities.
If you or your loved ones are suffering after having an aggressive driving car accident, you should not pay for the resulting expenses yourself. You may be entitled to compensation for vehicular damage, medical expenses, and other losses. Consider contacting an aggressive driving accident lawyer who can help you with your case.
Call the team at Ben Crump Law, PLLC, at (844) 730-0233 for a free consultation to review your legal options after an aggressive driving accident. We can pursue damages on your behalf and fight for a fair settlement for you. Since we work on contingency, you will not owe us anything unless we earn a settlement award for you.
Aggressive Driving Laws
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) defines aggressive driving as when “an individual commits a combination of moving traffic offenses so as to endanger other persons or property.” Essentially, aggressive driving includes any type of driving behavior that endangers a driver’s surroundings.
The most common forms of aggressive driving include:
- Speeding
- Failure to follow traffic laws
- Failure to obey traffic signs and signals
- Refusal to yield the right of way
- Swerving, passing too closely, or weaving through traffic
- Changing lanes without signaling
- Following other vehicles too closely (tailgating)
- Sudden acceleration and deceleration next to another driver
- Cutting off other drivers
- Road rage
Speeding perhaps is the most common cause of accidents. The NHTSA reports that speeding has been a factor in nearly 33 percent of all motor vehicle fatalities in the U.S. for more than 20 years. When a driver speeds, they often commit other traffic violations as well, as they may be going too fast to observe a stop sign or change lanes safely.
According to the Governors Highway Safety Association, 11 states have enacted laws that define aggressive driving actions, and 15 states have addressed aggressive driving in legislation. Many other states include aggressive driving under the term of reckless driving or in reference to specific behaviors, such as driving on the shoulder of a road or tailgating. In most cases, aggressive driving includes two or more moving violations.
While state laws differ in their approach to aggressive driving, and there is no national law defining aggressive driving, all drivers are responsible for their actions on the road. If you and your loved ones are suffering from an injury after an aggressive driver’s actions, you have the right to pursue justice through legal action.
Legal Options After an Aggressive Driving Accident
There are several legal routes you can take to pursue compensation after a car accident. The first is to file a claim with the at-fault driver’s insurance company. Since it is in any insurance company’s financial interest to pay out as little as it can, you may have to negotiate with the company and prove the driver is at fault to receive the compensation you deserve.
If the other driver does not have car insurance, you can file a claim with your own insurance company instead. However, drivers are required to carry insurance coverage, and whether your insurance company will cover your losses depends on the type of policy and coverage you have.
Finally, you can file a personal injury lawsuit in civil court to hold the aggressive driver responsible for their actions and compel them to reimburse you for any losses you suffered in the accident.
Personal injury lawsuits not only help you recover losses and ensure you do not have to pay for something that was not your fault, but they can also make the road safer for everyone by holding the responsible driver accountable for their actions.
Recovering Damages After an Aggressive Driving Accident
When another driver causes a car accident that hurts you, you may be legally entitled to receive compensation for your losses, such as:
- Medical expenses
- Loss of income
- Vehicle repair or replacement
- Other property damage
- Pain and suffering
- Other expenses
An aggressive driving accident lawyer can help you identify the damages you may be compensated for and file an insurance claim or a personal injury lawsuit on your behalf. The team at Ben Crump Law, PLLC, will provide a free consultation so that you can review your legal options after your aggressive driving car accident.
The Statute of Limitations May Affect Your Case
A statute of limitations is a law that details the amount of time you have to pursue legal action after an event occurs. Statutes of limitations vary by state law, so how long you have to bring a personal injury lawsuit after an aggressive driving accident depends on where you live. However, it is common for the statute of limitations on personal injury cases to be two or three years.
You can look up the personal injury statute of limitations in your state or contact an aggressive driving accident lawyer for more information. However, it is often in your best interest to file a lawsuit as soon as possible so that you do not risk losing your right to pursue justice.
Ben Crump Law, PLLC, Can Help You
Earning a settlement award against an aggressive driver involves proving their moving violations and that they were at fault for the accident. An aggressive driving accident lawyer at Ben Crump Law, PLLC, is here to help you in this effort so that you can focus on healing after the accident instead of investigating it.
Evidence we may collect to attempt to prove aggressive driving includes:
- Video surveillance of the accident
- Photos of the accident scene
- Police records
- Insurance reports
- Eyewitness statements
- Medical records
In addition to collecting evidence, the team at Ben Crump Law, PLLC, can also help you identify the damages you may be able to receive compensation for, file a claim or lawsuit on your behalf, and manage communication with all parties. Let us do the work so that you can recover. You deserve to receive justice if an aggressive driver’s careless actions are responsible for harming you or your loved ones.
Reach the team at Ben Crump Law, PLLC, at (844) 730-0233 to schedule a free consultation and begin the process of recovery after your aggressive driving accident. We work on contingency, so you will not owe us anything until or unless we can negotiate a fair settlement for you.
