As with everything else, technology is quickly changing the way in which car wrecks, car collisions and car accidents are litigated in Greenville and elsewhere in South Carolina. And the changes are working in both directions, favoring victims of careless driving and also helping exonerate those wrongfully charged with negligent driving.
Take a moment and consider your cell phone.
Auto Accidents in Greenville SC: Cell Phones Are Tracking Devices
By now, most, citizens in Greenville SC, realize that their cell phone can be used as a tracking device to identify where you have been over a period of days or weeks. Even though your cell phone is mobile, the cell towers are not. In order to work — to connect and make a call or send a text or be connected to the internet — your phone must link to a cell tower. Each cell tower is fixed in location and has a certain range of broadcast and reception. If you are connected to a given cell tower, you must be within that cell tower’s range. As you travel, your phone moves into and then out of the ranges for the various cell towers in sequence. From this cell-site data, a map can be created showing where your phone traveled and, importantly, how fast you were moving
Auto Accidents in Greenville SC: Cell Phones Have GPS Apps
Aside from use of the signals to and from the phone to map out travel routes, many people enthusiastically download global positioning software and apps to their phones. For example, Facebook has a GPS feature that allows users to automatically show where they were when posting. When this feature is turned on, Facebook automatically shows the location where the user was at the time he or she made a post or uploaded a video or picture. And the global positioning is very precise.
Auto Accidents in Greenville SC: Cell Phones Are Precise Time-Stamp Storage Devices
In addition to providing precise geo-spatial locations, cell phones are precise — to the second — time-stamp storage devices marking the exact time you looked at a text or an email or some other data and the exact time you sent a text, responded to the email or made a call. The time-stamped data remains on your phone for a long time, is difficult to delete and, in any case, can be retrieved by your cellular service provider.
Auto Accidents in Greenville SC: Technology Is Affecting Car Accident Litigation
If you have been injured in a car wreck in Greenville, SC, you can initiate litigation against the negligent driver that caused the wreck by filing a lawsuit. The cell phone data that we discussed above can help you win your case in several ways. Cell phone data might show that the driver causing the accident:
- Was speeding;
- Was using his or her phone at the time of — or shortly before — the accident;
- Had spent several hours at a bar or tavern right before the accident;
- Was swerving in and out of traffic and lanes; and more.
Any of these facts might be relevant to your case and might be probative on issues of duty, breach of duty and causation.
While cell phone data can help you win your case, at the same time, cell phone data can also hurt your case. South Carolina follows what is called modified comparative negligence. If you are partly at fault for the accident, then your recovery will be reduced by the amount of your fault. For instance, if you are awarded $100 but found to be 25 percent at fault, then you will recover $75. If the jury/fact finder does not find that you were 51 percent at fault, then you will recover nothing. If your cell phone data shows the YOU were using your phone and/or texting right before the accident, then those facts might result in a finding that you were partially at fault.
Call Greenville SC Auto Accident Attorneys at David R. Price, Jr. P.A.
Litigating a car accident case can be complicated and confusing. But the proven and dedicated Greenville SC car accident lawyers at David R. Price, Jr., P.A. are ready and able to help you if you have been injured in a car wreck. We have the experience to uncover information like cell phone data that might help win your case. Contact our office today via email or by calling us directly at (864)271-2636.