Reckless Driving in Residential Areas

The Cape Cod car accident lawyers at the Law Offices of John C. Manoog, III help people who have been struck by careless drivers bring claims to seek the full legal remedies that they deserve. We understand the significant pain and stress that an accident can cause, especially when it happens because a driver acted recklessly in a neighborhood near your home. Our lawyers have over 146 years of combined experience working to hold negligent drivers responsible for their behavior.

Reckless driving is dangerous everywhere, but it can cause particularly serious harm in residential areas, where speed limits are purposely low because children and other residents are often outside. Excessive speeding, tailgating, or other aggressive actions behind the wheel may result in crashes that change a family’s life forever. People are often in a hurry when they are commuting to and from work or handling an errand, but this is no excuse for disregarding the lower speed limits in residential areas. Not only people in other cars but also bicyclists and pedestrians, who have no protections from reckless drivers, may be at risk.

A victim who is injured in a car accident caused by reckless driving, whether in a residential area or elsewhere, has a right to seek the full scope of compensation that they need from the driver responsible for the crash. Those remedies usually include compensation for medical bills, property damage, missed wages due to time away from work, pain and suffering, and emotional distress. An accident victim’s family members may also be able to obtain loss of consortium damages in some cases. If the collision tragically proves fatal, they can bring a wrongful death claim against the reckless driver.

In order to assert your right to damages, you probably will need to establish the defendant’s negligence. Massachusetts law imposes a “duty of care” on drivers that requires them to operate their vehicles in a reasonably safe manner. This means avoiding a wide range of dangerous behavior, such as speeding or driving aggressively in residential areas. To prove negligence, you need to show that the driver took some action that fell short of the duty of care. You also need to show that the driver’s recklessness directly led to the accident. For example, you might be able to provide evidence that the driver could have stopped in time to avoid the crash had they not been speeding well above the legal limit in your neighborhood.

At the Law Offices of John C. Manoog, III, our Cape Cod car accident attorneys understand how to build negligence cases for the people whom we represent. We have been working in the local courts for decades, and we understand each facet of the process. There is no need to take our word for it; our recent results speak for themselves. Our motor vehicle collision attorneys offer free consultations at our offices in Hyannis and Plymouth, and we can travel to meet with you if you are unable to come to our offices. We do not charge a fee in many cases unless we obtain compensation for you. Call us at 888-262-6664 or contact us online to schedule a free initial consultation. Nós Falamos Português.