Those who drive too fast, tailgate or ignore red lights engage in negligent driving that can lead to catastrophic injuries in New Jersey. What is reckless driving, and how can you hold another driver responsible for your injuries?
What defines reckless driving?
What makes a driver reckless when motor vehicle accidents occur? Almost any driving behavior can become reckless under the right circumstances. These can include:
• Tailgating
• Speeding
• Driving too fast for conditions
• Weaving through traffic
• Driving while impaired
• Driving on the shoulder and lane-splitting
Many more actions can constitute reckless driving, but when drivers indulge in behavior that doesn’t take into account how it can affect others, it can result in various serious injuries, such as:
• Disfigurement
• Spinal cord injuries
• Traumatic brain injuries
• Orthopedic injuries
• Amputations
• Soft tissue injuries
Assessing the scope of harm suffered
When filing lawsuits against reckless drivers, several factors can determine the extent of your legal action. The harm you may have suffered turns into hard dollars when determining the compensation you request. You should look at the potential cost of medical expenses, including hospitalization, doctors’ fees and therapies, non-medical expenses like damage to property, income lost due to the accident, and pain, suffering and diminished quality of life. In some cases, punitive damages may also figure into the total amount requested.
Maximizing your injury compensation
Generally, the more severe the personal injury is from a motor vehicle accident, the more compensation that you can try to get from a reckless driver. In addition to assigning liability to the driver, other people and even businesses may bear some of the responsibility in a reckless driving case. Others that can also be part of a liability claim include employers of drivers on company time, bas and restaurants who have overserved patrons, and others not directly involved with the mishap but may have failed to warn the driver.
You have a right to file a lawsuit when injured in a motor vehicle accident. You can attempt to get the most available compensation by being as thorough as you can.