A new NCCI study has identified that smartphone usage has been connected to the number of vehicle accidents that occur on the job. The National Council on Compensation Insurance identified that there has been an increase in the severity and frequency of workers’ compensation claims for motor vehicle accidents. Workplace safety advancements have helped to cause a decrease in workers’ compensation claim frequency, however, the claims resulting from deaths and injuries tied to motor vehicle accidents have been on the rise. 
This has coincided with the surge in the use and popularity of smartphones which shows that distracted driving is a key issue for personal injury and workers’ compensation accident claims. The study explored data from 2011 through 2016 and found that the increase in motor vehicle accidents was a phenomenon not limited to workers’ compensation alone.
In fact, NCCI identified a similar pattern across the entire United States population, showing that a rise in the number of traffic accident fatalities occurred alongside a general increase in motor vehicle accidents. A rapid expansion of smartphone ownership occurred at the same time period that motor vehicle accidents were increasing.
The cellphone policy kit created by the National Safety Council shows that at least 27% of vehicle crashes involve drivers who are talking or texting on their phones. This is also largely underreported since many people underestimate the amount of time they spend driving distracted or the true level of distraction that coincides with being involved with operating a car at the same time.
Whether it’s on the job or running errands on your own, it can change your life and make work impossible again if you’re hurt in a vehicle accident. Protecting your right to file a legal claim is the only way to be able to move forward again.
If you or someone you know has already been hurt in a distracted driving accident in San Francisco, it pays to find an attorney you can trust immediately.