New York Injury Talk Blog

New York State lawmakers have officially passed a law that bans texting while driving across the state. According to a WKTV news report, texting while driving was banned in some counties, but now texting while driving is illegal across the entire state. Those who break the law face a $150 fine. However, some worry about a catch with the new law, which is considered a "secondary offense." This means that a driver can only get a ticket for texting and driving if they are pulled over for breaking another law.

Despite this loophole, the ban on texting while driving has been a long time coming in New York State. While driving while using a hand-held cell phone has been proven to be dangerous, the chance of getting into an accident is much more while texting and driving because the driver loses use of both hands. Your hands are not on the wheel and your attention is hardly on the road when you are texting and driving!

If you have been seriously injured by a distracted or negligent driver, you may be entitled to seek compensation to cover medical expenses, cost of hospitalization, loss of earnings, cost of long-term care and other related expenses. If a death occurs as a result of such an auto accident in New York caused by a distracted driver, the family of the deceased auto accident victim may even be able to file a wrongful death lawsuit. In cases where the texting driver was on the job or communicating with his or her employer, the employer may also be held liable for injuries in addition to the negligent driver.