• March 13, 2019
• CMZ Law
• no comments

How does Snapchat contribute to danger on the road?

Across the country, personal injury attorneys are beginning to ask their clients if the car accidents in which they were injured may have involved Snapchat. Press releases and blogs are increasingly pointing out the dangers of the app’s speed filter feature which tracks how fast an individual is traveling while taking a selfie. What makes Snapchat photos even more dangerous than other electronic images is that Snapchat photos and videos disappear immediately after viewing, so they demand immediate and complete concentration.

If you are driving and view a Snapchat picture, you are momentarily completely distracted, and, we all know (or should know) it takes only a moment for a serious accident to occur, one in which drivers or pedestrians suffer severe injuries or wrongful death.

Only a few weeks ago, a Georgia resident sued Snapchat and the young driver viewing the device for a car crash that left him with serious brain injuries. Apparently, the driver of the car responsible for the crash, a young woman, eager to use the speed filter feature, was using Snapchat while she was speeding at over 100 mph. During her “momentary” distraction, her car crashed into the victim’s Mitsubishi, resulting in his brain trauma.

To make a tragic situation even worse, the driver at fault in this accident seems to have had only minimal car insurances ($25,000.), hardly enough to cover the medical costs of the injured party. This is part of the reason for the lawsuit against Snapchat, a firm that clearly has deeper pockets than the woman responsible for the crash.

Although Snapchat is not making any comment directly concerning the lawsuit, it has issued the following comment: “No Snap is more important than someone’s safety. We actively discourage our community from using the speed filter while driving, including by displaying a ‘Do NOT Snap and Drive’ warning message in the app itself.”

If you have been injured in a vehicular accident caused by distracted driving, or if you have suffered any injury as a result of the negligence or malice of another person, your first priority should, of course, be receiving medical attention. As soon as possible after that, you should consult with a skilled and experienced personal injury attorney to determine your best options moving forward.