The Impact of Distracted Driving Laws on Accident Claims in Nova Scotia

If a Distracted Driver Injures You in Nova Scotia, What Are Your Rights?

If a distracted driver injures you in a traffic accident in or near Halifax, schedule a consultation promptly with a Halifax traffic accident lawyer to discuss your legal rights and options. You could recover compensation for your lost medical costs, lost earnings, and other damages.

In the 21st century, distracted driving – and particularly operating a cell phone while driving – has become a leading cause of traffic collisions and injuries in Nova Scotia and throughout Canada.

According to data from Transport Canada, distracted driving was a factor in more than 22 percent of the fatal traffic accidents and more than 25 percent of the serious injury accidents in Canada in 2021.

If you are injured in a Nova Scotia traffic accident because another driver was distracted, what are your rights as the victim of someone else’s negligence? What legal steps should you take? When should you contact a Nova Scotia traffic accident lawyer?

What Distractions Do Drivers Face?

Distracted driving is a genuine risk to other motorists, their passengers and yours, and the general public. By law, drivers may only use handheld devices to report immediate emergencies, but distracted driving is more than talking or texting on your phone.

Distractions when you drive may be caused by other passengers, audio devices, GPS devices, eating, grooming, drinking (anything), or anything else that takes a driver’s attention off the road.

In Nova Scotia, using a handheld phone to send texts or make calls is illegal. Drivers may only use handheld devices to report immediate emergencies. Under the Nova Scotia Motor Vehicle Act, the penalties for distracted driving are:

1. First offences may be penalized with a $233.95 fine and four demerit points.
2. Second offences may be punished with a $348.95 fine and four demerit points.
3. Third offences may be penalized with a $578.95 fine and four demerit points.

What Can Happen When a Motorist is Distracted?

It can seem trivial, but merely adjusting the volume on a sound system, taking care of a pet or child, or trying to find a hamburger in a take-out bag can distract a driver’s attention just long enough to cause a catastrophe.

When a vehicle moves at sixty miles per hour, it travels more than three hundred feet – over a hundred yards – in less than four seconds. Taking a driver’s attention from the task of driving – for even a moment – can be tragic.

Every driver is occasionally distracted, but you can reduce distractions and the potential for disaster by not grooming, reading, eating, drinking, or watching videos when you drive. Turn your phone off or ignore it, use your safety belt, and do not drink alcohol if you plan to drive.

If a Distracted Motorist Injures You, Take These Steps

If a distracted driver injures you in the Halifax area, after a medical professional examines and treats you – that’s the paramount priority – the next step is to contact a Halifax traffic accident lawyer.

A traffic accident lawyer will investigate what happened and review the medical and police reports, witness statements, and photographs or video. Your accident lawyer will explain your rights and your options for compensation, which may include bringing a personal injury lawsuit.

To Recover Compensation, What Will You Have to Prove?

The distracted driver’s car insurance company may contest your claim, so you must have evidence that the driver was distracted. To prevail with a personal injury lawsuit, you and your auto accident lawyer must prove:

1. The defendant (the other driver) owed the plaintiff (the injured party) a “duty of care.”
2. The defendant breached that duty.
3. The defendant’s negligent and distracted driving is why the plaintiff is injured.
4. Justice requires the defendant to compensate the plaintiff for damages and losses.

How Are Distracted Driving Cases Resolved?

Most distracted driving cases are resolved when lawyers for both parties negotiate a settlement out of court. However, if the defendant disputes liability for the crash or does not make a reasonable settlement offer, your Nova Scotia traffic accident lawyer will take the case to trial.

At trial, your lawyer will explain why the defendant is at fault for your injury, how (and how severely) you were injured, and how much compensation you are entitled to recover. Your lawyer will ask the court to find in your favor and order your compensation payment.

When Should You Contact a Car Accident Lawyer?

Under the Limitation of Actions Act, the injured victim of a distracted driver in Nova Scotia has two years from the accident date to take legal action. A court may extend that deadline in particular cases, for instance, if your injury wasn’t immediately detected.

A Nova Scotia car accident lawyer can explain the exceptions to the Limitation of Actions Act. However, an injury lawsuit is more likely to succeed if you have a medical exam immediately and follow it with immediate legal action.

Do not wait two years – or even two weeks – after you’ve been injured to speak with an accident lawyer. Schedule a consultation promptly after a medical provider has treated you. Your lawyer needs to see the evidence while it’s fresh and speak to the witnesses before their memories fade.

What Else Should Nova Scotia Motorists Know?

Take your distracted driving case immediately to an experienced personal injury lawyer at McKiggan Hebert Lawyers. Do not make any statement to the other driver’s car insurance company or sign any insurance document before you consult a lawyer at McKiggan Hebert.

A personal injury lawyer will know how to bring your distracted driving case to its best possible outcome. If a distracted motorist injures you, your first legal consultation with McKiggan Hebert is offered at no cost, and you will owe no lawyer’s fees until we recover your compensation.

For decades, the award-winning lawyers at McKiggan Hebert have represented and prevailed for the injured victims of distracted drivers in Halifax and across Nova Scotia. Call McKiggan Hebert Lawyers at 902-706-2298, and let us fight for the compensation you deserve and need.