According to the Insurance Institute of Highway Safety, drivers who have had their licenses for six months or less are approximately eight times more likely to be involved in a fatal auto accident than more experienced drivers. In general, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that crash risk is “particularly high during the first months of licensure.”
In a city as densely populated as New Orleans, auto accidents caused by inexperienced drivers are especially common, resulting in thousands of injuries each year. As skilled, experienced litigators who have a history of success in handling the full range of auto accident cases, the personal injury attorneys of Harrell & Nowak can help you if you or a member of your family has been injured in an accident caused by an inexperienced driver.
Why Are Inexperienced Drivers More Likely to Be in Auto Accidents?
There are numerous reasons why inexperienced drivers – and inexperienced teen drivers, in particular – are more likely to be involved in serious auto accidents. These reasons include:
- Inexperienced drivers are less likely than experienced drivers to recognize potentially dangerous situations.
- Distractions such as smartphones, CD players, and even conversations with passengers are more likely to lead to accidents among inexperienced drivers.
- Drivers who have not experienced a range of problems involving other drivers – being cut off, for example – will not know how to anticipate and respond to such problems.
- Inexperienced drivers are more likely to panic when faced with potential hazards, which results in their either responding incorrectly or failing to respond at all.
- Inexperienced drivers do not tend to understand the influence of high speeds on reaction times, making speeding particularly dangerous.
- Inexperienced teen drivers in particular are often overconfident in their skills, executing high-risk maneuvers that increase their odds of being in an accident.
As with all auto accident litigation, our car accident attorneys use all of the resources at our disposal to investigate, reconstruct, and gather evidence pertaining to the accident in order to build the strongest case possible against the inexperienced driver. You shouldn’t have to pay your medical and other expenses out of your own pocket simply because the driver who struck your car had to learn a lesson about responsible driving the hard way.
Damages in Auto Accident Cases
No two auto accident cases are alike; the damages to which you are entitled may be quite different from the damages to which another accident victim is entitled. However, damages that are commonly recovered in auto accident cases in which the defendant is an inexperienced driver include compensation for:
- Hospital and doctor bills
- Medication expenses
- Physical therapy and other costs of rehabilitation
- Lost wages
- Loss of quality of life
- Pain and suffering
- Mental anguish
The only way for you to know what sorts of damages you could expect to recover in your case is to arrange for a case evaluation. If you are interested in having your case evaluated by our experienced auto accident lawyers, please contact the law firm of Harrell & Nowak today.