• Best Lawyers
    Best Lawyers

    Best Lawyers has been generating elite lists of peer-reviewed attorneys across more than 140 practice areas for more than 30 years. Only the best attorneys are selected each year.

  • Best Lawyers Lawyer of the Year
    Best Lawyers Lawyer of the Year

    Lawyer of the Year is awarded to attorneys with the highest overall peer-feedback for their specific practice area and geographic region. Only one attorney is selected as Lawyer of the Year for each area of law and location.

  • Best Lawyers Best Law Firms U.S. News & World Report
    Best Lawyers Best Law Firms U.S. News & World Report

    Best Law Firms publishes a list of law offices recognized for professional excellence and impressive ratings from clients and peers. Eligible law firms must first be recognized by The Best Lawyers in America, a distinction only the top practicing attorneys in the U.S. receive.

  • Super Lawyers
    Super Lawyers

    Attorneys selected to the list of Super Lawyers must be nominated by their peers and evaluated and researched by an independent panel. The goal of Super Lawyers is to create a credible, comprehensive and diverse listing of outstanding attorneys that can be used as a resource for attorneys and consumers in need of legal counsel.

  • LawDragon
    LawDragon

    Selection to the Lawdragon 500 Leading Plaintiff Consumer Lawyer guide is both prestigious and hard-earned. Lawdragon selects only 500 honorees each year in an effort to recognized only the most distinguished practicing attorneys.

  • Super Lawyers Rising Stars
    Super Lawyers Rising Stars

    The research team at Super Lawyers choose less than 2.5 percent of the lawyers in the state to receive their Rising Stars honors. Super Lawyers is a rating service composed of outstanding lawyers from more than 70 practice areas and uses a statewide survey of lawyers and independent research to evaluate and select candidates.

  • Martindale - Hubbell AV Preeminent
    Martindale - Hubbell AV Preeminent

    Martindale-Hubbell® Peer Review Ratings™ is the gold standard when it comes to rating lawyers who have been recognized for their strong legal ability and high ethical standards. These ratings are used by attorneys referring clients and people researching lawyers for their own legal needs in order to choose the appropriate legal representative for their situation.

  • Rhode Island Monthly | Professional Excellence in Law 2022
    Rhode Island Monthly | Professional Excellence in Law 2022

    Rhode Island Monthly Communications Inc. asked Rhode Island licensed lawyers to vote for their peers in a range of law practice areas. Rhode Island Monthly contracted DataJoe Research to conduct the survey using an online ballot for collecting, vetting and tallying votes. Any lawyer who has been disciplined for an infraction by the state regulatory board was excluded from the results. Otherwise, inclusion in the list is based on the opinions of responding lawyers in the region. DataJoe takes time and energy to ensure fair voting, although the results of this survey nomination and internet research campaign are not an objective metric.

  • Save Our Juries
    Save Our Juries

    Save Our Juries was founded in 1958 and is a public awareness campaign sponsored by the American Board of Trial Advocates. Some of the most respected plaintiff and defense civil attorneys in the United States are members of ABOTA. The goal of Save Our Juries to educate and mobilize citizens to protect our Seventh Amendment rights.

  • LawDragon Leading Plaintiff Consumer Lawyers

Rhode Island Texting & Driving Accident Lawyers

Fighting for Victims of Distracted Driving

According to the National Safety Council (NSC), cell phone usage now causes over 1.1 million motor vehicle accidents every year, or 20% of all crashes – and at least 6% more involve text messaging specifically. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) also estimates that all forms of distracted driving caused over 3,166 fatalities in 2017 alone. Because texting while driving poses such a clear threat to the safety of other drivers on the road, drivers who engage in this type of illegal behavior can be held civilly liable for any injuries caused in a crash.

In the state of Rhode Island, it is also illegal for any driver to text while operating a vehicle. At Decof, Barry, Mega & Quinn, P.C., we’re committed to improving our communities by ensuring that those who text and drive are held accountable for the damage they cause. When you need assistance paying for mounting medical bills, long-term care arrangements, and lost wages, our experienced Rhode Island distracted driving lawyers can help you pursue a civil lawsuit and seek damages for your losses.

Call (401) 200-4059 today to speak with a member of our team!

Why Is Texting While Driving So Dangerous?

Over 20,000 people lost their lives in fatal distracted driving crashes between 2012 and 2017. Sadly, the rates of texting while driving continue to increase with every passing year, despite multiple public awareness campaigns by the NHTSA and other agencies. While many people assume that they are proficient enough at texting to avoid a serious accident, there are many reasons why texting while driving continues to be one of the most dangerous activities a driver can engage in.

Unlike other distracting behaviors, texting while driving combines all three types of driver distractions: cognitive, visual, and physical. On average, drivers who text will avert their eyes from the road for at least 5 seconds – or approximately the length of a football field, when traveling at 55 miles per hour. Drivers are also less able to react in time when their hands are physically occupied with a cell phone, and the thought process behind each text serves as a cognitive distraction, too.

What Damages Can I Seek for a Texting & Driving Crash?

When you’ve suffered catastrophic injuries or lost a loved one because of a texting driver, nothing can truly compensate for the scale of your losses. Fortunately, Rhode Island law allows you to seek compensation in the form of a civil lawsuit when a driver’s negligence caused your car accident. Under the doctrine of pure comparative negligence, you can pursue a car accident claim even if you were partially responsible for the crash – and because texting while driving is such an egregious example of negligence, it’s more likely that the other party will share a significant portion of the liability.

After a texting and driving accident, you may be entitled to seek compensation for the following:

  • Medical bills and expenses
  • Hospital stays
  • Disability modifications
  • Long-term care needs
  • Physical therapy
  • Past and future lost wages
  • Physical and emotional pain and suffering
  • Wrongful death

Whether you need to negotiate a fair settlement with an insurance provider or pursue a full personal injury lawsuit, Decof, Barry, Mega & Quinn, P.C. will stand up for your legal right to compensation. Combining over 200 years of experience, our professional attorneys in Rhode Island will always treat you and your case with a high degree of professionalism, integrity, and care.

Do you need to discuss your legal options with a qualified attorney? Call (401) 200-4059 for a free consultation.