Texting While Driving in Utah is Against the Law

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A terrible northern Utah accident in 2006 occurred when 19-year-old Reggie Shaw was sending and receiving texts while driving to work.  Because he was distracted, his car veered over the yellow line, clipped an oncoming car and sent it spinning into the path of another vehicle. The resulting impact immediately killed two men who were commuting to work.   It was because of this accident and the investigation that followed, that the Utah State Legislature ultimately wrote one of the strictest laws in the country against electronic communications being sent or received by people who are driving.  To his credit, after completing his court-ordered sentence, Mr. Shaw began actively educating as many as people as possible about the dangers of texting and driving.
More recently, just this month Aaron Deveau of Haverhill, Massachusetts was the first person in that state to be convicted of causing a traffic death while texting.  Deveau was sentenced to a year in jail and his driver’s license has been revoked for 15 years. To read about this, go to:  Massachusetts teenager guilty in texting while-driving fatal crash gets year in jail.
At McMullin Injury Law we inform all drivers that under Utah law, the penalties for texting and driving are severe and punishable by fines, suspension of license and possible incarceration of varying lengths of time depending on the details of the accident. The specific Utah code prohibits using a handheld wireless communication device for text messaging communication while operating a moving motor vehicle.
At our law firm, we represent people who have been hurt in accidents caused because of the negligence of another person or party.  We remind you to refrain from texting while you’re driving and that you share this message with your friends and family members—especially your children who drive.  Texting while driving in Utah is against the law.
If you or someone you know has been injured in an accident that was caused because someone else was texting while driving, contact our office.  We will meet with you free of charge to tell you if you have a case.

Stop Going in Circles: Why Using a Personal Injury Attorney Will Help You

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When you’ve been involved in an accident and you’re trying to resolve your claim with an insurance company, it’s likely you feel that you’re going around in circles because the same things keep happening. First you go to doctor appointments, then you discuss your case with insurance adjusters, then you have more doctor appointments followed by more conversations with adjusters. With each passing day, your frustration increases because you’re really not making much progress toward a resolution of your claim.  You feel like your case is just going around in circles.  We think that sounds like being in a rowboat with only one oar—you just go around in circles.
When you contact an attorney, it’s like adding a whole crew to the rowboat—and each person brings an oar to help row to shore.  Together you begin to make progress.  When you decide to hire an attorney to help resolve your personal injury claim, each person at the law firm works for you—not the insurance companies.  Our goal is to help you stop spinning in circles so you can get back on firm ground.
At McMullin Injury Law, our focus is personal injury law.  That means that we work with people who have been injured because of the negligence of someone else, and we help our clients resolve their personal injury claims.  When you use a licensed personal injury attorney, it’s like adding a whole crew of people to your vessel so you stop going in circles.

What to Do if You’re in a Traffic Accident

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The majority of our work at McMullin Injury Law involves helping people who have been injured in car accidents. Our goal is to simplify the personal injury claim process thereby taking pressure off of our clients so they can concentrate on healing.
Occasionally we learn that people choose not to call the police after a car accident because they don’t think that there’s really any damage, or the other driver tells them not to.  Not calling the police usually ends up causing problems because insurance companies rely on the police report for verification of facts about the accident.  After any accident, it’s important to call the police if for no other reason than to make sure that there is an official police report that documents the accident.
Regardless of the severity of the accident, there are five things to do when you’ve been involved in a traffic accident.  Just remember CRASH:   Call, Record, Ask,State, Hazards
Call 911—request that police come to the scene even if the accident was minor.  If there are
     known injuries, also request an ambulance.
Record in writing the name, address, phone number, and automobile insurance company of
     each driver involved.
Ask for witnesses and get their contact information.
State only the facts when discussing the accident with the police.  Do not sign any documents
    unless requested by the police.
Hazard lights—turn them on (if possible) to alert other drivers.
We urge you to share these five steps to handling a traffic accident with your family and friends so that you and they will know what to do in the event of a traffic accident.
If you or someone you care about has been in an accident, call our office at (435) 673-9990 as soon as possible.  We have handled hundreds of personal injury cases across Utah and Nevada including St. George, Cedar City, and Mesquite, Nevada.  We will meet with you personally to discuss your case and answer your questions.  There is no charge for this consultation.  In fact, because we work on a contingency basis, we do not get paid unless we resolve your claim.
At McMullin Injury Law, we are…In Your Community and On Your Side.