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Cell Phone Use in Car Costs Company $5.2 Million

The case against driving with a cell phone glued to your ear just got stronger. For Georgia-based International Paper Company, the lesson has been an expensive one. The company has paid a sum of $5.2 million to settle a personal injury lawsuit that resulted from one of their employees using a company provided cell phone.

Vanessa McGrogan, the employee in question, was driving on Interstate 16 near Dublin, Georgia, and was talking on her cell phone. Her car rear-ended the car ahead being driven by Debra Ford. The impact caused Ford’s car to roll into a nearby ditch and then rolled over. Ford’s arm was caught between the car and the ground. The injuries were serious enough for Ford to have her arm amputated right up to the shoulder. Ford is a widow and a mother of four.

Ford’s attorney argued that the cell phone provided an unacceptable distraction for McGrogan, who it was revealed was driving on cruise control at a speed of 77 mph in a 70 mph zone.

International Paper, it seems, tried every tactic to argue that Ford’s loss of her arm was related to the fact that she was a smoker, and that vascular problems that were smoking related could have caused the arm to heal slowly. This claim was refuted by Ford’s doctor, as well as another medical expert who said that Ford’s amputation was a result of the force of the car crushing her arm.

International Paper initially offered to settle for $750,000, which was refused. It seems now that the company was not willing to let the case go to trial because of the “cell phone stigma” attached. Juries are known to be very unforgiving in accident cases where the driver was talking on a cell phone.

Although it was never conclusively proven that Vanessa McGrogan was in fact talking at the exact time of the accident, the company no doubt felt the risk of association with a cell phone would be too costly to bear. Regardless of the technicalities of McGrogan’s cell phone use, it’s clear that she was speaking on the phone at some point of her car ride, which was enough for International Paper to panic.

Ford’s attorney used a wealth of research pointing to the effects of cell phone usage while driving. The effects of talking on the cell phone while driving can be more dangerous then the influence of alcohol. The state of Georgia hasn’t banned cell phone usage in cars, but more such million-dollar verdicts might cause the state to take a hard look at its laws.

Regardless of whether McGrogan was talking on the phone at the moment of impact, this is a welcome settlement. Laws need to be tough and settlements need to be hefty if any sort of progress in the right direction is to be made.

If the growing numbers of fatalities related to cell phone caused accidents is not enough impetus for Georgia authorities to enforce a total cell phone in cars ban, then maybe, the prospect of multi million dollar settlements will.

If you have suffered a devastating injury as a result of a car crash or any other event, you need the help of a top California personal injury lawyer. Contact an attorney at The Reeves Law Group for a free consultation.

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