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Teen Drivers and Car Accidents |
Teenagers are new to both the responsibilities of driving and to the dangers of driving. To them, four wheels and a license is all about freedom, which is why nearly 75% of all teenagers will be involved in a car accident. Car accidents involving teenagers range anywhere from fender benders and one car accidents to highway pileups and drunk driving accidents.
When a teenager has shown a serious lack in judgment and has made very poor decisions, such as getting behind the wheel after engaging in alcohol or recreational drug use, the car accidents which follow can be devastating. If you or a family member has been carelessly hit by a teenager under the influence, it is advisable to speak with an auto accident attorney as soon as possible. An attorney can advise you of your rights to sue, or the rights you may have on a family member's behalf.
Teenage drivers often make mistakes, and many of those mistakes are innocent enough. Yet despite all the education, the public service announcements, parental input, and life experience put together, there are still an abundance of teens that get behind the wheel in an altered state of mind. While it can be a difficult decision to file an auto accident lawsuit against a teenager, in many cases a lawsuit is the only way to re-coupe even some of what has been shattered and lost.
Teenagers face many grown up choices every day, from being responsible behind the wheel of a car to not drinking underage and then driving. These grown up choices can also have grown up consequences. While a teenager is on so many levels still a child, the law considers them old enough to be responsible.
When they neglect to be responsible, someone definitely pays for it. Consulting with an attorney and filing a lawsuit against a teenager who has behaved poorly is another grown up response to a grown up choice. Besides jail time, a lawsuit sends a very solid and clear message that driving under the influence of anything is not cool, and it can be very costly in both the financial world, and the human world. Sometimes a lawsuit is a victim's only legal voice in a situation that is unfair, brought about by someone else's carelessness.
Teenagers have very few possessions. In fact few of them even own the car they turned your life upside with. From state to state the laws vary as to whether or not you can file an auto accident lawsuit against a teenager or whether you can file an auto accident lawsuit against their parents. Only a qualified attorney can explain the finite details of the law in your state.
Some states allow an injured party to hold the parent responsible for the teenager's actions and you can file a lawsuit against the teenager's parents. Other states require that you can only file a lawsuit against the offending party regardless of their age.
Of course, filing an auto accident lawsuit of any kind requires a qualified and highly skilled attorney. Filing a lawsuit against a teenager responsible for a devastating auto accident is naturally no different. Much of the outcome is a result of the quality of the attorney and their ability to liken the story to a jury.
A good defense is going to paint the child as a good kid who made a small mistake. While an aggressive attorney will be able to shatter the perception of how innocent the teenager is, you don't want someone attacking him so vehemently that the jury feels bad for the perpetrator of a devastating car accident. You want an attorney who can handle the entire event from the car accident to the court room behavior with professionalism and grace.
Following a car accident, there are always numerous decisions to make, paperwork to be handled, and other car accident related headaches. Your auto accident attorney should not be yet another car accident headache to contend with. It's a far cry from a walk in the park to file an auto accident lawsuit following a devastating car accident, and your attorney should be able to handle most things without having to hound you.
Once the facts of the car accident are collected and the attorney has been able to file on your behalf, you should be able to turn your attention back to other pressing matters such as your health and the health of your loved ones. Quality updates and informative matters are of course essential, but a high quality attorney is going to be able to handle most things that evolve from the case with a simple phone call and his or her best wishes for a speedy recovery.
Article written by Nick Johnson
This entry was posted on Friday, April 27th, 2007 and is filed under Car Accidents, Car Breakdown. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
Dear Nick, I enjoyed your article on highway safety. Thanks for your concern and all that you do. I’m president of Five Star Commitment, Inc. a non-profit company whose mission is to reduce accidents among teens and all other motorist. We have a unique and exciting concept to change the driving behavior of all motorist. We do this by asking teens to get involved pro-actively in promoting and teaching five basic principles of highway safety to their parents, relatives, neighbors and friends. The parent love the idea for their student to come to them about highway safety. The Student like it because its an adult program that is meaningful and is worthwhile. They know that they are helping society and the community and that the cause is much needed and they feel good about being involved.
Please call 1-919-279-7837 and visit our site at www.fivestarcommitment.com and view the video and diriving tips.
Thanks, Curt Williams