Teen Speeding Car Accident

According to the Centers for Disease Control, approximately 3,000 teens ages 15-19 were killed in car accidents and more than 350,000 suffered injuries that necessitated emergency room treatment. While 18-24 year olds make up only 14 percent of the U.S. population, they account for 30 percent of the total costs of car accident injuries among males and 28 percent of the total costs of car accident injuries among females. Teen drivers are at great risk of car accidents for many reasons, including the tendency of teen drivers to speed or drive above the legal limit.

When a teen driver speeds while operating a vehicle, he or she is violating a safety law. A legal doctrine called negligence per se establishes the rule that violation of a safety law creates a presumption of negligence. This means anyone injured in an accident with a teen driver, including passengers in the vehicle may be able to make a personal injury claim for damages without actually needing to prove negligence.

However, understanding when to make a personal injury case and how to prove your claim can be challenging, even in situations where negligence per se applies. As such, it is always advisable to get help from an experienced Boston car accident attorney. For more than 19 years, the Massachusetts personal injury lawyers at Jeffrey Glassman Injury Lawyers have represented car accident victims. Contact us to learn more about whether we can help you in your teen driving case based on speeding.

In addition to providing general information on teen driving accidents in Boston and throughout the rest of the United States, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention also outlines the most common causes of teen vehicle accidents.

Among these factors, the CDC reports that teen drivers are much more likely than older drivers to speed and to allow a shorter distance between their vehicle and the car in front of them. Male teen drivers, especially, are more prone to speeding and 37 percent of male drivers between 15 and 20 who were involved in fatal crashes were speeding at the time when the accident occurred.

Speeding not only increases the risk of a collision occurring, but the collision may also be more dangerous and more likely to be deadly because of the higher rates of speed involved. As such, if you or a loved one was involved in an accident with a speeding driver, there is a high probability of serious injury.

While personal injury protection (PIP) insurance that is required by Massachusetts law will provide some coverage for medical costs after an accident, the person responsible for causing an accident can become liable for other damages including pain and suffering in the event that more than $2,000 in medical bills are incurred or in the event that broken bones or permanent scars or disfigurement result from the accident.

This is true even if the person responsible is a teen and even if you were a passenger in the car with the teen at the time of the accident. Your Boston personal injury lawyer will help you to understand when you may sue or make a personal injury claim, as well as help you decide the extent of your current and future economic losses as a result of the collision.

Teen drivers who are speeding may also have legal recourse in limited situations. While speeding creates a presumption of negligence, it may also be possible that the teen was speeding but that someone else caused or contributed to the accident. When this occurs, it may be possible for the speeding teen to receive partial compensation from the person who was also partly responsible for the crash. For instance, a person who was 52 percent responsible would pay 52 percent of the teen's damages.

To learn more about how a Boston car accident lawyer can help you after a teen driving accident or a distracted driving accident, contact Jeffrey Glassman Injury Lawyers today at (617) 777-7777 or online.