Rear-ended by a driver looking at their phone. Hit by a driver fumbling with GPS. Side-swiped by a driver scrolling social media at 40 mph. NY's texting-while-driving and handheld-phone laws both apply — both are negligence per se if proven. The hard part is proving it. We subpoena phone records, screen-time data, and app usage logs to lock down what the driver was doing in the seconds before impact.
Madison Law Firm PLLC · 579 5th Ave, 2nd Floor, New York, NY 10017
Police report, scene photos, witness statements about driver behavior pre-crash, traffic camera footage. Preservation letters to the carrier and any social-media platform that may have logged activity. We pull EDR (event data recorder) data from the vehicle showing brake/throttle inputs in the final seconds.
Phone-records evidence shifts negotiating leverage substantially. Insurance adjusters who would otherwise lowball a 'rear-end whiplash' claim move fast when the file shows their insured was on TikTok at the moment of impact. We document this evidence early and present it strategically.
Distracted-driving cases play extremely well to juries — everyone hates seeing texts-while-driving evidence. We coordinate with senior trial counsel under NY co-counsel rules joint-responsibility agreements where the case warrants it.
Every case is different. The recoverable damages depend on your injuries, the insurance available, and the facts of your case.
We send a preservation letter to the at-fault driver and a subpoena to the carrier (Verizon, AT&T, T-Mobile) within the first 30 days. Cell tower records, SMS/iMessage timestamps, app foreground activity, and even screen-on data — modern phone forensics can prove the driver was distracted at the exact moment of the crash. Without the preservation letter, this data is purged within months.
Before filing, NY requires a New York civil procedure rule 3012-a certificate of merit signed by your attorney attesting that a qualified physician has reviewed the case and finds it meritorious. We arrange the expert review during intake.
Claims against NYC Health + Hospitals (HHC) facilities — Bellevue, Elmhurst, Kings County, Lincoln, etc. — require a 90-day notice of claim. Same deadline applies to SUNY hospitals. Call us before that deadline runs.
We answer 24/7. Free consultation. No fee unless we win.