Distracted Driving Accident Claims

Involving Mobile Devices Special Considerations and New Frontiers in Legal Liability

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WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 1, 2012

Presenting a live 90-minute webinar with interactive Q&A

Douglas R. Horn, Lead Attorney, Horn Law, Independence, Mo.

Laurie Del Percio, Lead Litigation Attorney, Horn Law, Independence, Mo.

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Distracted Driving Accident Claims

Involving Mobile Devices

Special Considerations and

New Frontiers in Legal Liability

Please print and follow the PDF handout, “Horn DelPercio Reference Materials” for the presentation. The handout is accessible under the “handouts” tab in the “Conference Materials” Section on the left panel of your screen, and also at the following link: http://www.straffordpub.com/products/distracted-driving-accident-claims-involving-mobile-devices-2012-08-01

Douglas R. Horn Laurie Del Percio

816.795.7500 dhorn@hornlaw.com LDelPercio@hornlaw.com www.HornLaw.com

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Seminar Introduction & Objectives Although distracted driving arises in many forms, this seminar

will focus on distracted driving caused by a driver’s use of mobile electronic devices.

This seminar is especially applicable for lawyers who handle a wide variety of motor vehicle accident cases. Our primary objective is to give you tips and information that will enhance your case intake, preparation, and litigation approach in a distracted driving case.

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Distracted driving is any driver activity, non-essential to driving a motor vehicle, that causes a visual, auditory, manual, or cognitive distraction such that it increases the risk of an accident.

• Visual- looking at something other than the road

• Auditory- hearing something not related to driving

• Manual- manipulating something other than the steering wheel

• Cognitive- thinking about something other than driving

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In 2008, distracted driving was a rising problem due to texting teen drivers. Now, due to the proliferation of the smart phone, distracted driving has reached epidemic levels among every age segment. Studies show that you are 4 times more likely to be involved in an accident when using your cell phone while driving. Texting while driving increases the chance of a collision by 23%.

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Handheld Cell Phones

As of July 2012, 10 states & DC prohibit all drivers from using handheld cell phones while driving. Except for Maryland, all laws are “primary enforcement”. Primary enforcement means an officer may cite a driver for using a handheld cell without any other traffic offense taking place.

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All Cell Phone Use No state bans all cell phone (handheld and hands-free) use for drivers, however, many prohibit all cell phone use by novice drivers.

Text Messaging As of July 2012, 39 states & DC ban text messaging for all

drivers. An additional 5 states prohibit text messaging by novice drivers.

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Federal regulations prohibit interstate truck and bus drivers from using hand-held cell phones while operating commercial vehicles. This Federal Motor Carrier Safety Act regulation, which became effective in January 2012, affects about 4 million truck and bus drivers.

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Recent state and federal cell phone laws have resulted in employers enacting policies, procedures, and protocols that relate to the use of cell phones while driving on company business. It is not unusual to find employer rules more stringent than state laws.

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Attitudes and Behaviors

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) recently published “Distracted Driving Attitudes and Behaviors”. The Executive Summary of this comprehensive survey contains a number of interesting findings in the following areas:

Common Distracted Driving Behaviors

Perceived Effect of Cell Phone Talk on Driving

Perceived Effect of Sending Text/E-Mail on Driving

Perception of Driver Safety

Crash Experience

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Efforts to increase distracted driving safety awareness have grown considerably over the last several years. Because of these efforts, more drivers now recognize distracted driving as a “dangerous activity” that involves a substantial risk of harm.

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Accident Scene Evidence, Crash Reports, and other Important Factors

Gender

Age

Scope of Employment

Force of Impact

Time of Day (Hour/Minute)

Plaintiff Cell Phone Records

Driver/Passenger/Witness Statements

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Accident Investigations, Evidence Preservation, and the Call Detail Record

Possible Experts

Accident Reconstruction

Animation Models

Cell Phone Forensic Experts

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Duty of Care

Aggravated Negligence

Trial Considerations

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The sample petition in the materials contains a cause of action for recklessness.

Please print and follow the PDF handout, “Horn DelPercio Reference Materials” and follow the “Authorization, Notice, and Petition” sections during this portion of the presentation. The handout is accessible under the “handouts” tab in the “Conference Materials” Section on the left panel of your screen, and also at the following link: http://www.straffordpub.com/products/distracted-

driving-accident-claims-involving-mobile-devices-

2012-08-01

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DEPOSING THE DEFENDANT DRIVER The deposition of the defendant driver is one of the most important areas for development of the distracted driving case.

Make sure you obtain an Authorization in order that you can

request and obtain the Call Detail Records (CDR). A sample

CDR Authorization is included in the program exhibits.

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A recent $21 million dollar judgment against Coca-Cola points out the significant corporate exposure that can result from a distracted driving collision caused by a driver in the scope of employment.

Initial Considerations

Pleadings

Written Discovery

Deposition of Defendant Driver

Deposition of Company Representatives