The app company Snapchat recently faced several civil lawsuits alleging that the app is causing car crashes by encouraging dangerous driving. The popular picture-based social media application isn’t the only distraction found on phones, of course. Other social media sites are tempting to many drivers, leading to distracted driving. However, Snapchat has something that Facebook and Twitter don’t: a speed filter.
Snapchat allows users to take pictures and send them directly to other users or post them to public “Stories” that anyone can see. It also offers “filters,” which are overlays that can distort images or overlay location-specific information. For example, a few Snapchat filters include time and date, weather, and speed. The last one is the problem.
The speed filter uses GPS information to determine how fast the user travels and superimposes that number on the picture. Theoretically, that’s not dangerous. The problem is how Snapchat’s teenage and young adult userbase is using it.
Young people aren’t always the best decision-makers. Almost as soon as the app added the filter, teenagers started using it to document how fast they were driving. That has led to multiple car crashes and even deaths as drivers attempt to get the speed on the app as high as possible to send it to their friends.
While Snapchat has recently removed the filter entirely, it’s still facing lawsuits from the families of those who died while using the filter. One case that accuses the company of negligent design in the speed filter has just been through the US Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit. The Court of Appeals reversed a decision by a lower court that had dismissed the lawsuit, meaning that the company now must face a full trial regarding liability for these accidents. Here’s what that means for Snapchat and California drivers.
What Determines Liability
Liability is the state of being responsible for an accident or injury occurring. For car accidents, the party that causes a crash is the liable person. That means that they can be ordered for damages relating to the crash, such as car repairs or medical expenses.
To prove that someone is liable for a car accident, you need to prove that they did it on purpose or were negligent. Negligence is much more common. A driver has acted negligently in California if they:
- Had a duty to other drivers on the road (this is typically assumed for drivers on public roads)
- Breached that duty by breaking laws or behaving recklessly
- Their breach of duty caused the accident in question
- The accident caused you, the plaintiff, damages
The most challenging point to prove in many car accident cases is whether someone breached their duty of care. However, California has implemented a comparative fault law that makes things a little more complicated.
Comparative fault allows more than one person to be held liable for an accident. Under California’s pure comparative fault law, liability is determined in percentages. For example, one party may be 10% responsible for an accident if they forgot to use their turn signal. The other might be 90% liable if they were speeding and blew through a stoplight.
Comparative negligence allows any party involved in an accident to sue any liable party for damaged. However, the person or group who’s sued will only need to pay damages relative to how much they were at fault. That means that if someone sued a driver that the court determined was 60% liable for an accident, that driver would only need to pay 60% of the total damages. Even the driver who’s 40% at fault for the crash would be able to sue and receive that 60%.
Drivers Don’t Always Have Fully Liability
Pure comparative liability covers more than just drivers, too. Any party whose negligence contributed to an accident can be considered liable. That’s why the families suing Snapchat are arguing that its design and filters are negligent, making Snapchat partially liable. Other situations where non-drivers can be responsible for an accident include:
1. Poorly Maintained Road Conditions
Municipalities have a duty to keep roads maintained, from the asphalt itself through the signs and signals guiding traffic. If the road authority doesn’t follow through with that duty, then it could be considered negligent. Should poor road maintenance cause you to have an accident, you may be able to file a lawsuit against the agency in charge of that road.
2. Negligent Car Manufacturers
Sometimes a car can cause an accident without the driver doing anything wrong. Suppose a manufacturer produces vehicles that don’t work correctly, such as the famed Toyota brake issues. In that case, they may be liable for the accidents their cars cause. If a vehicle is a lemon or becomes subject to recalls, then you may be able to sue the manufacturer for any damages caused by their defective product.
3. Special Situations
Last, special situations like the Snapchat filter fiasco can also lead third parties to be liable for a car accident. Most frequently, this takes the shape of an organization somehow damaging the performance of a vehicle or road. Unscrupulous transport agencies that don’t perform vehicle maintenance or push their drivers to break laws may be liable for accidents their drivers cause, for instance.
On a personal level, individual people can also be held liable for accidents even if they’re not driving. An abusive partner grabbing the steering wheel could be partially responsible for a crash, as could someone dropping things off of an overpass.
Hold the Right Parties Responsible for Your Accident
It’s easy to assume that only the drivers involved in a car accident can be liable for it. That’s just not the case. In states like California and Illinois, any traffic accident can have three or more liable parties, including non-drivers. If you’ve been hurt in a crash, you deserve to hold every liable party accountable, whether it’s a negligent car manufacturer or Snapchat.
If you’re ready to fight for the damages you need to return to a normal life, reach out to a qualified attorney. They can help you determine who’s actually responsible for your accident, put together your case, and navigate the legal environment. Take the first step to receiving all the damages you deserve today by scheduling your consultation.
