An Ann Arbor distracted driving accident lawyer proves what the other driver was doing in the seconds before impact, and that proof is often what separates a disputed claim from a paid one. Christensen Law handles these cases from our Ann Arbor office at 3049 Miller Road and from four other Michigan locations. When a phone caused a crash, a record of it exists, but not for long.
If a distracted driver injured you, call us at (248) 900-9000 while that record can still be preserved. Our Ann Arbor distracted driver crash lawyer will explain what evidence matters and how quickly it has to be secured.
What Counts as Distracted Driving Under Michigan’s Hands-Free Law?
Since June 30, 2023, Michigan law has barred holding or using a mobile electronic device while driving, which is considerably broader than the texting ban it replaced. MCL 257.602b now imposes a full hands-free requirement.
Holding means physically supporting the device with any part of the hands, arms, or shoulders. Operating includes sitting at a red light on Washtenaw Avenue or while stopped in traffic, so a driver is not exempt because the car was not moving.
The prohibited conduct includes calls on a handheld device, texting and emailing, viewing or recording video, using social media, and entering information by hand into a mapping app. Hands-free use through Bluetooth, an integrated system, or a mounted device is generally permitted, as is a single tap to start or end a call.
Distraction unrelated to a phone falls outside this statute but not outside the law. A driver eating, reaching for something, or turning to deal with passengers can still be negligent in the ordinary sense.
How Do You Prove a Driver Was Distracted?
Distraction is proved through records and data rather than accusation, and the useful sources expire on short schedules. A texting while driving accident attorney in Ann Arbor works backward from impact along several tracks at once.
Carrier and device records
Phone records show call and message timestamps, and application data can show what was open and active. These come out through subpoena or court order, which means a claim has to be formally underway before they can be obtained.
Vehicle data
An event data recorder captures speed, braking, and steering inputs in the final seconds. A complete absence of braking before impact is itself strong evidence that the driver never saw what was ahead.
Cameras and witnesses
Businesses along Plymouth Road, Stadium Boulevard, and State Street commonly hold footage on a rolling loop measured in days. Witnesses who saw a driver looking down give their most reliable accounts when interviewed early.
The driver’s own words
Statements at the scene, in the crash report, and in early recorded interviews often contain admissions. Social media activity timestamped around the crash sometimes tells the story without any subpoena at all.
Because this evidence disappears rather than waits, our first move in an Ann Arbor distracted driver crash claim is usually a set of preservation letters rather than a demand letter.
Retention windows are the part that people underestimate. Carrier content records are held for far less time than call logs; business camera systems commonly overwrite within a week or two, and a total-loss vehicle can be disposed of before anyone reads its event data.
A preservation letter does not compel production, but it does put the holder on notice that the material is relevant. That changes the conversation later if the evidence turns out to have been destroyed after the notice arrived.
It also shapes the negotiation. A carrier that knows phone records have been preserved and will be subpoenaed values the claim differently from one that expects the question to quietly go away.
Why Ann Arbor Roads Produce These Crashes
Ann Arbor combines heavy pedestrian and cyclist traffic with commuter arterials, and a distracted driver in that mix has very little margin. The city’s road users are more exposed than in most Michigan markets.
Campus-adjacent streets around State Street, South University, and Main Street carry constant foot traffic, much of it students crossing mid-block. A driver glancing at a screen for two seconds covers most of a block.
Commuter corridors behave differently. US-23, M-14, and I-94 produce rear-end and lane-departure crashes at high closing speeds, while Washtenaw Avenue and Plymouth Road generate intersection collisions where a driver simply never looked up.
Seasonal patterns matter too, with move-in weeks and football Saturdays bringing large numbers of unfamiliar drivers following directions on a phone. None of that excuses the conduct, but it does tell us where to look for cameras.
Vulnerable road users bear the worst of it. A person on foot, on a bike, or on a scooter struck by a distracted driver has no structure absorbing the impact, and the injuries reflect that difference.
Those cases also raise coverage questions that a driver’s case does not. A pedestrian or cyclist still qualifies for Michigan no-fault benefits, but which policy pays depends on household coverage rather than the vehicle that hit them.
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What Your Michigan No-Fault Benefits Cover
Your own auto insurer pays medical care and part of your lost income regardless of who was distracted. These Personal Injury Protection benefits are meant to move quickly and require no proof about the other driver.
PIP generally covers reasonable charges for necessary medical treatment, up to 85% of lost wages for up to 3 years, replacement services for household tasks, mileage to appointments, and attendant care when ordered by a physician. How much medical coverage exists depends on the level selected on the policy after the 2019 reform, and the state’s guide to PIP medical coverage levels explains the tiers.
The wage loss piece runs out, which is the part that damages families most. A discussion of how Michigan wage loss benefits are calculated and capped sets out what the three-year limit means for someone with a lasting disability.
When Can You Sue the Distracted Driver?
You can pursue the driver personally once your injuries meet the statutory threshold or your economic losses exceed what no-fault pays. MCL 500.3135 permits noneconomic damages only where there was death, permanent serious disfigurement, or a serious impairment of body function.
Serious impairment means an objectively manifested impairment of an important body function affecting the person’s general ability to lead a normal life. The impairment has to be observable or perceivable from actual symptoms or conditions, which puts imaging, surgical findings, and documented restrictions at the center of the case.
A hands-free violation does not decide a civil case by itself, but it reframes the negotiation entirely. An insurer defending a driver who was streaming video occupies very different ground from one defending a momentary lapse.
Comparative fault still applies. Under MCL 600.2959, damages are reduced by your share of responsibility, and more than 50% fault bars non-economic damages.
Why Ann Arbor Families Choose Christensen Law
We prepare every case as though a jury will hear it, and distracted driving claims reward that because the evidence has to be pursued through a formal process rather than requested politely.
- An Ann Arbor office on Miller Road, close to Washtenaw County’s courts and the roads these crashes happen on
- A Michigan trial firm working exclusively under Michigan law, including the no-fault framework behind every crash claim here
- Five offices statewide, in Southfield, Detroit, Grand Rapids, Ann Arbor, and Troy
- A focus on serious and catastrophic injury, including traumatic brain and spinal cord injuries
- We move early on subpoenas and preservation demands rather than waiting for an insurer’s timeline
- You will know who is handling your case and be able to reach that person directly
What that produces is a claim built on evidence rather than assertion. If a distracted driver injured you, call (248) 900-9000 and tell us what happened.
What Damages Can You Recover in an Ann Arbor Cell Phone Car Accident Claim?
The claim against the driver reaches the losses no-fault leaves behind, and in a serious injury case, those are the larger figures. What is recoverable depends on the injuries and on the proof behind each category.
- Pain, suffering, and emotional distress connected to the injury
- Wage loss beyond the three-year no-fault period
- Loss of future earning capacity where you cannot return to the same work
- Medical expenses above the PIP coverage level on your policy
- Loss of the ability to take part in activities and relationships you valued
- Damages for surviving family members in a fatal crash
Future losses call for supporting opinion evidence, usually from treating physicians and vocational or economic analysts. Assembling that record takes time, which is why a serious case should not be settled while treatment continues.
Deadlines Worth Knowing After an Ann Arbor Crash
Two independent clocks run from the date of your collision, and the evidence clock is shorter than both of them. Under MCL 600.5805, you have three years to sue the at-fault driver.
Under MCL 500.3145, you have one year to give written notice of the injury to your no-fault insurer, identifying the injured person and the time, place, and nature of the injury. The same section limits recoverable benefits to losses incurred within one year before suit is filed.
Claims involving a public vehicle or road authority carry far shorter notice requirements, sometimes measured in months. If a city, county, university, or transit vehicle was involved, timing becomes urgent.
None of these deadlines protects phone records, camera footage, or vehicle data, all of which can be gone within weeks.
Your Questions Answered by Our Ann Arbor Distracted Driving Accident Lawyers
Below are the questions we hear most from Washtenaw County clients after a distraction-related crash.
Realistically no. Carriers release those records only in response to a subpoena or court order, which requires a formal legal process. Delay also risks the records passing out of the carrier’s retention window.
It matters legally, but it is not a defense to negligence. Hands-free use complies with the statute, yet a driver absorbed in a call who runs a light on Huron Parkway is still careless. The traffic law and the negligence standard are separate questions.
Younger drivers face tighter device restrictions, and those holding Level 1 or Level 2 graduated licenses more so. Coverage can be a bigger issue in these cases, so identifying the vehicle’s owner and any parental policy matters early.
Often yes. Cyclists and pedestrians struck by a motor vehicle can access PIP benefits, though the priority analysis differs and may route through a household policy or the Michigan Assigned Claims Plan. It is worth reviewing quickly, because deadlines apply either way.
It can change a great deal. An employer may share responsibility where the driver was acting within the scope of employment, and commercial vehicles often carry telematics, dispatch records, and considerably higher coverage limits.
You are not required to, and doing it early rarely helps you. Report the crash to your own insurer as your policy requires, then get advice before discussing fault or the extent of your injuries with anyone else.
Talk With an Ann Arbor Distracted Driving Accident Lawyer
The phone records and footage that would prove what happened are counting down from the day of your crash. Getting in touch early costs you nothing and preserves options that otherwise close quietly.
Call Christensen Law at (248) 900-9000 or contact us through our contact page. Our Ann Arbor car accident practice covers Washtenaw County, and our statewide distracted driving practice handles claims everywhere else in Michigan.
