Lawsuit Filed Against Florida Driver in Fatal Texting While Driving Collision | Seattle Car Accident Lawyer

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Back in August 2008, a cyclist was struck and killed in a texting while driving car accident in North Naples, Florida. The driver of the vehicle was in fact texting when the collision occurred. Now the victim’s family is seeking justice and has filed a wrongful death lawsuit.

As a Seattle car accident lawyer, I see accidents involving cell phone use all the time. That is why I founded Teens Against Distracted Driving to hope accidents like this one don’t happen again.

Lawrence A. Daniels, the driver of the vehicle, ran a stop sign before hitting and killing James L. Caskey. The cyclist’s family claims Daniels had no consideration for the lives of others on the road when he chose to text and drive. He intentionally took his eyes off the road.

The Florida lawsuit, filed in Collier Circuit Court, charges Daniel with intentional misconduct and gross negligence. Astella Phara US Inc. owns the vehicle Daniel was driving at the time of the fatal car accident and is also named as a defendant in the lawsuit.

Daniels had already been found guilty of not yielding at the stop sign. He was fined for the fatal crash and had his license suspended for 6 months.

Unfortunately, pedestrians and cyclists are hit by motor vehicles far too often. According to a 2008 report by the Highway Traffic Safety Administration, 4,378 pedestrians and 716 cyclists were killed in auto accidents.

As more states are banning texting while driving, Florida is still debating the issue. Wyoming just recently passed the ban, joining the other 19 states who have already made it illegal to text and drive.

This information is provided by Straight Talk Law, where you can order free information on Seattle auto accidents, buying Washington car insurance, and other valuable legal information, offered as a public service by King County personal injury attorney and author Jason Epstein and his Seattle auto accident, Everett motorcycle accident, and Bellevue wrongful death law firm in Seattle, Washington.