Michigan Distracted Driving Accident Lawyer

Being hit by a driver who was looking at a phone is infuriating, because the crash never had to happen. Distraction causes a large share of Michigan crashes, and the person who pays for it is usually the one who was paying attention. The hard part is proving what the other driver was doing in the seconds before impact, because that evidence starts disappearing almost immediately, and Michigan’s 2023 hands-free law gives an injured person a real tool only if the proof is captured in time.

Auto-accident attorneys at Vahdat Weisman Law represent people hurt by distracted drivers in Livonia and across Michigan. We move fast to lock down the evidence of distraction, secure your no-fault benefits, and pursue full compensation from the at-fault driver.

Michigan’s Hands-Free Law

As of June 30, 2023, Michigan law prohibits a driver from holding or using a mobile device behind the wheel. Under MCL 257.602b, a driver cannot hold a phone to call, text, scroll social media, or watch or record video; hands-free and voice operation, and a brief tap on a mounted phone, are the narrow exceptions, not a license to keep scrolling. It is a primary offense, so police can stop a driver for it alone, and the fines double when an at-fault driver was holding a device in a crash. When a distracted driver seriously injures or kills someone, the moving violation can even become a criminal misdemeanor under a separate law.

For an injured person, the violation matters in the civil case, but it is worth being precise about why. In Michigan, breaking a safety statute creates a rebuttable presumption of negligence, a strong starting point the other driver has to overcome with a legally sufficient excuse, rather than an automatic win. And proving the driver was on a phone is only half the story; we also have to connect that distraction to the crash, the eyes off the road, the delayed reaction, the missed brake. We build both halves.

How We Prove the Driver Was Distracted

Distraction leaves a trail, but only if someone preserves it before it is overwritten. The first thing we do is send formal litigation-hold and preservation letters to the driver, their insurer, their phone carrier, and any employer, demanding they keep the records intact. From there, the proof comes from several places: the carrier’s call and text logs and cell-site data; subpoenaed activity records from messaging and social apps; and, where warranted, a forensic image of the phone itself, which can reveal screen activity, app use, navigation entries, and CarPlay or Android Auto connections at the time of the crash. The vehicle’s event data recorder, the black box, documents speed, braking, and steering in the final seconds, which shows the failure to react even though it does not by itself prove phone use. Add witnesses, nearby surveillance and dashcam video, the police report, the driver’s own social-media timestamps, and admissions like “my GPS froze” or “I was answering work,” and the picture comes together. Distraction is more than texting, eating, reaching, grooming, and simply tuning out cause crashes too, but phone use is the easiest to document, which is exactly why we move on it quickly.

No-Fault Benefits, the Mini-Tort, and Excess Costs

Michigan no-fault pays your medical bills and a portion of your lost wages regardless of fault, through your personal injury protection benefits. Since the 2019 reforms, how much medical coverage you have depends on the level you chose, from unlimited down to $250,000, $50,000 for certain Medicaid recipients, or a Medicare-based opt-out, which matters enormously after a serious injury. If a capped policy runs out, the unpaid medical bills and wage loss can be pursued as an excess economic loss claim against the at-fault driver, and that claim, unlike a pain-and-suffering claim, does not require clearing the injury threshold. Two no-fault deadlines bite hard: a one-year notice requirement and the one-year-back rule that limits how far back benefits can be recovered. And for the dent in your car or your deductible, Michigan’s mini-tort lets you recover up to $3,000 from an at-fault driver. We make sure each of these is handled correctly and on time.

The Claim Against the Distracted Driver

Beyond no-fault benefits, you can pursue the distracted driver for pain and suffering when your injury meets Michigan’s serious-impairment threshold, an objectively manifested impairment of an important body function that affects your general ability to lead your normal life, judged by comparing your life before and after the crash. The hands-free violation strengthens the fault side of that case. Michigan’s comparative-fault rule reduces a recovery by your share of fault and bars pain-and-suffering damages if you are found more than 50% at fault, though reduced economic damages remain recoverable. If the distracted driver had little or no insurance, which is common, your own uninsured or underinsured motorist coverage may be the path to a full recovery, and when a crash is fatal, the family can bring a wrongful death claim.

When the Distracted Driver Was Working

If the driver was on the job, the employer may share responsibility, which usually means a larger policy behind the claim. That can be vicarious liability for an employee driving in the course of work, the employer’s own negligence in entrusting a vehicle to or failing to supervise a known unsafe driver, or owner liability when a company let an employee use its vehicle. Commercial drivers are bound by federal rules that ban texting and handheld phone use, and carriers that allow or pressure it can be liable; in those cases we pull the electronic logs, dispatch messages, telematics, and company phone policy. We investigate the employment relationship and every available policy.

The Damages

A distracted-driving crash at speed produces the serious injuries we see most: traumatic brain injuries, spinal injuries, fractures, and harm that changes how a person works and lives, on top of medical bills, lost income, and the stress of fighting an insurer while trying to heal. We pursue the no-fault benefits that cover your care, the excess costs a capped policy leaves behind, and the liability claim for pain and suffering, and in catastrophic cases we build the proof of a lifetime of need.

How Vahdat Weisman Law Handles Your Case

We move first to preserve the phone and vehicle data that proves distraction before it is gone, secure your no-fault benefits, identify every responsible party including an employer, and build the liability case on documented proof. From our Livonia office, attorneys Jordan S. Vahdat and Kara E. Weisman handle distracted-driving claims for clients across Metro Detroit and the rest of Michigan on a contingency-fee basis, so there is no attorney fee unless we recover for you.

Frequently Asked Questions

• How can you prove the other driver was on their phone? Through evidence that has to be preserved quickly: carrier call and text logs, subpoenaed app-activity records, sometimes a forensic image of the phone, the vehicle’s data recorder, witnesses, video, and the police report. We send litigation-hold letters early so that proof is not lost.
• The driver got a ticket under the hands-free law. Does that help my case? Yes. Breaking a safety statute like the hands-free law creates a rebuttable presumption of negligence, a strong starting point, though we still have to show the distraction caused the crash and the injury.
• Does no-fault still pay if the other driver was distracted? Yes. Your no-fault benefits pay for medical care and wage loss regardless of fault. The claim against the distracted driver for pain and suffering is separate and available when your injury meets the legal threshold, and if your coverage was capped, excess costs can be pursued against the driver too.
• The distracted driver had almost no insurance. Am I out of luck? Not necessarily. Your own uninsured or underinsured motorist coverage may apply, and if the driver was working, an employer’s policy may stand behind the claim. We look for every source of recovery.
• What does it cost to hire you? Nothing upfront. We handle these claims on a contingency-fee basis, so you owe no attorney’s fee unless we recover compensation for you.

Why Injured Michiganders Trust Vahdat Weisman Law

Vahdat Weisman Law is a personal injury firm based in Livonia, Michigan, representing injury victims and their families throughout the state. Our attorneys, Jordan S. Vahdat and Kara E. Weisman, bring courtroom experience, a record of meaningful results, and a hands-on approach to investigation and case strategy. We prepare every matter as if it will go to trial, which positions clients for stronger settlements and protects their rights if litigation becomes necessary.

We handle distracted-driving injury claims on a contingency-fee basis, which means there is no attorney fee unless we recover compensation for you. From our Livonia office, we serve clients across Metro Detroit and the rest of Michigan, and we explain every step in plain language so you can make informed decisions about your case.

Speak With a Michigan Personal Injury Lawyer

If you were hurt by a distracted driver, contact Vahdat Weisman Law in Livonia today at (734) 469-4994 for a free, confidential consultation. Because the phone and vehicle data that proves distraction can disappear quickly, the sooner we hear from you, the more we can protect. Reach out through our contact page to tell us what happened and learn about your options. There is no cost to speak with us about your potential claim.

Disclaimer: This information is for educational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. Every case is unique, and prior results do not guarantee future success.