Tampa and Sarasota Teen Driving Accident Lawyer

Florida already has many risks of accidents on the roads, and the risks increase with every new driver who obtains their license. While getting a driver’s license is a rite of passage, it also comes with the chance that the teen driver will be in an accident due to a number of reasons.

If your teen was involved in a crash or a teen driver hit and injured you, speak with the Tampa teen driving accident attorneys at Matthews Injury Law.

Why Teen Drivers Get into Crashes

Frequent causes of car accidents involving teen drivers include:

Texting while driving

Texting while driving is particularly common among younger drivers, who are likely to have grown up using cell phones and are accustomed to communicating using a phone at any given moment. Texting while driving is illegal in Florida, although this is a difficult law to enforce, and teen texting and driving remains a leading cause of accidents in Florida.

According to the Florida Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles, distracted driving caused 56,261 crashes in a recent year, resulting in 271 fatalities and 2,928 serious bodily injuries. Many other distracted driving accidents likely went unreported, as few drivers will admit to texting when they caused a crash.

Inexperience

Lack of experience is also a cause of accidents involving teen drivers. Obtaining a Class E or regular drivers’ license in Florida requires passing a vision and hearing test, completing a drug and alcohol course, passing a knowledge exam, and, for new drivers, requires having a learning permit for 12 months without traffic violations and obtaining at least 50 hours of driving experience.

Yet, in many cases, experience is the best teacher, and given a teen’s lesser amount of time on the road, the lack of experience is especially likely to factor into accidents for teen drivers. In a single year, 63,916 teenagers were involved in car accidents in Florida, which resulted in 15,718 injuries and 146 fatalities. This large percentage of teen driving crashes is, in part, due to inexperience on the part of the teenager.

Injury Claims from Teen Driver Accidents

Florida treats teen and adult drivers the same under the law when it comes to personal injury claims related to accidents. In addition, insurance claims for teen and adult drivers are treated the same, which means that there should be insurance coverage for medical bills and other expenses regardless of fault. Our legal team assists with the following:

Contact a Tampa Teen Driving Accident Lawyer Today

Before you speak with the insurance company or accept any settlement offer, contact an experienced teen driving accident attorney at Matthews Injury Law for help. We can help you seek a settlement that covers your losses, so you can move forward in the best possible position following a teen driving accident.