Distracted Driving Accidents

Inattention Can Be Fatal

One of the great public safety hazards of our times is the potential danger of personal injury caused by a distracted driver. When we walk, bicycle, drive or ride in vehicles on public roadways, we have to trust that drivers of other vehicles will drive safely and obey traffic laws. A driver who is talking on a cellphone, texting, using a GPS device or “surfing the Web” on a mobile device puts the well-being of other drivers at risk.

Experts tell us that distracted driving can be as dangerous or more dangerous than drunk driving. Evidence that a driver’s cellphone use (or other form of distracted driving) caused an accidental injury may strengthen an injury claim against that driver. Cellphone records, eyewitness testimony and police reports may bolster claims of negligence.

Getting The Information We Need To Fight For You

If you or a family member suffered injury in a New York distracted driving accident, attorneys at Caesar & Napoli, can help. Our lawyers are ready to get an in-depth investigation underway. Our goal will be to get at the real causes of your car, truck, motorcycle, bus, bicycle or pedestrian accident. If our accident reconstructionists discover that another driver was texting or arguing with passengers at the time of a crash, this information may make your injury claim more compelling.

Caesar & Napoli, is prepared to fight for the financial relief you need after a serious car or truck accident. We pride ourselves on our thorough investigations and analyses of clients’ accidents. Ultimately, we want to see you get the compensation that you deserve when another driver was negligent by way of distraction at the wheel.

What New York Law Says About Distracted Driving

Two sections of the Vehicle and Traffic Law apply directly. Section 1225-c prohibits using a handheld mobile telephone while driving. Section 1225-d prohibits using a portable electronic device, which covers texting, email, browsing, photographs and games. Both are primary offenses in New York, meaning an officer can stop a driver for that conduct alone, and a conviction carries five points on the driver’s license. Drivers with a junior or probationary license face suspension for a first violation.

A ticket is not required for a civil claim, and the absence of one does not end the inquiry. The civil question is whether the driver failed to use reasonable care, and phone use is one way of proving that. Eating, reaching for an object, adjusting a navigation screen, turning to address passengers and grooming are all forms of distraction that support a negligence claim even though no statute names them.

How Phone Use Is Actually Proved

Drivers rarely admit to looking at a phone, and a police report often records nothing more than the driver’s own account. Proof usually comes from elsewhere:

• Carrier records showing calls, texts and data sessions timed against the moment of impact
• Data pulled from the vehicle itself, including the event data recorder and the infotainment system, which can log whether a phone was paired and what it was doing
• Application level data from navigation, music and messaging services
• Surveillance footage from nearby businesses, residential cameras and traffic cameras
• Dashcam video from other vehicles
• Statements from passengers and independent witnesses
• Telematics and dispatch records when a commercial vehicle is involved

Most of this evidence has a short life. Carriers purge records on their own schedules, businesses overwrite video within days, and a vehicle sent to salvage takes its recorder with it. Sending preservation demands early is one of the first things a lawyer does in these cases, and it is the step most often missed when a claim sits with an insurance adjuster for months.

When The Distracted Driver Was Working

A driver who was on the clock brings the employer into the case. Delivery drivers, rideshare and livery drivers, commercial trucks, service vans and company cars are all covered by policies far larger than a personal auto policy, and the employer can be responsible for conduct within the scope of employment. Dispatch logs, delivery applications and company phone policies frequently show the pressure that produced the distraction in the first place. Our pages on trucking accidents and bus accidents cover those claims.

No Fault Benefits And The Serious Injury Threshold

New York is a no fault state, so two processes run in parallel after a crash.

No fault benefits pay medical expenses and a portion of lost earnings regardless of fault. They come with short deadlines: written notice to the insurer is generally due within 30 days of the accident, and medical bills are generally due within 45 days of treatment. Missing those dates can leave bills unpaid even in a strong case.

A lawsuit for pain and suffering is separate and requires a serious injury as Section 5102(d) of the Insurance Law defines it. That definition includes fracture, significant disfigurement, permanent loss or significant limitation of use of a body function or system, and a category covering injuries that prevent a person from performing substantially all of their usual activities for 90 of the 180 days after the crash. Whether an injury meets the threshold is litigated regularly, which is why consistent medical treatment and documentation matter from the first week.

Steps That Protect A Distracted Driving Claim

• Call the police and make sure a report is generated at the scene.
• Photograph the vehicles, their positions, the roadway and any sightlines before anything is moved.
• Note whether the other driver was holding a phone, and say so to the responding officer.
• Collect names and numbers for witnesses, including passengers in other vehicles.
• Get medical attention the same day, even if the symptoms seem minor.
• File the MV-104 report with the Department of Motor Vehicles within 10 days when property damage exceeds one thousand dollars.
• Notify your own insurer promptly, and decline to give a recorded statement to the other driver’s carrier.

Deadlines That Apply

• Personal injury lawsuit: three years from the date of the crash (CPLR 214)
• Wrongful death action: two years from the date of death (EPTL 5-4.1)
• Crashes involving a city vehicle, a public authority or a transit bus: a notice of claim within 90 days and suit within one year and 90 days (General Municipal Law 50-e and 50-i)
• No fault benefits: notice within 30 days, bills within 45 days of treatment
• Uninsured and underinsured motorist claims: governed by your own policy, and the notice periods in those policies are far shorter than three years

Questions About Distracted Driving Claims

The police report does not mention a phone. Is the case over?

No. Reports capture what an officer observed and what the drivers said at the scene, and a driver who was texting rarely volunteers it. Phone records and vehicle data are obtained afterward, through the claim or through litigation.

Can phone records really be obtained?

Records held by a carrier are reachable through the litigation process. What matters is timing, because carriers do not keep detailed records indefinitely. This is a strong reason not to wait.

The other driver got a ticket. Does that settle liability?

It helps, but a ticket is not a finding in a civil case, and how a traffic charge is resolved does not control the outcome of an injury claim. The civil case is built on its own record.

I was hit while walking or cycling. Does no fault still apply?

Generally yes. A pedestrian or cyclist struck by a motor vehicle is usually entitled to no fault benefits through the vehicle’s policy. See our pages on pedestrian injuries and bicycle accidents.

What if I was partly at fault?

New York applies pure comparative fault under CPLR 1411. A share of responsibility reduces a recovery by that percentage rather than barring the claim.

Do you handle these cases in Brooklyn, Queens and on Long Island?

Yes. The practical difference between those places is evidence. Camera coverage, which agency responds, and how quickly a police report becomes available all vary by location, and those factors set how fast the phone records and vehicle data have to be pursued. Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome.

Related Motor Vehicle Pages

• Car accidents
• Trucking accidents
• Pedestrian injuries
• Bicycle accidents
• Uninsured and underinsured motorists
• Auto insurance litigation
• Auto accident fatalities

Injured In An NYC Distracted Driving Accident? Call Caesar & Napoli

At Caesar & Napoli, initial consultations are complimentary. Schedule a conversation with one of our attorneys about your motor vehicle accident case. Contact us at (888) 235-6766. We handle most personal injury cases on a contingency fee basis. This means you will not owe attorneys’ fees until and unless we recover compensation for you.