Michigan Distracted
Driving Lawyer

FAQs

• Can A Driver Use Their Phone While Stopped At A Red Light in Michigan?

  No. This is one of the most common myths we hear from at-fault drivers trying to excuse their behavior. Under Michigan law, you are still considered to be “operating” a motor vehicle even when you are completely stopped at a red light, stuck in a traffic jam, or waiting at a stop sign.

  If a driver rear-ends you at an intersection and claims they were “only checking a text while stopped,” they have just admitted to breaking Michigan’s hands-free law. We do not let insurance adjusters use the “stopped traffic” excuse to minimize the trauma and physical injuries you are suffering from.

• Michigan’s Hands-Free Law: What It Means for Your Case

  It is completely illegal in the state of Michigan to hold, support, or manually use a cell phone or any mobile electronic device while behind the wheel. Under MCL 257.602b, a driver cannot rest a phone in their hand, on their lap, or prop it up against their shoulder. It is a primary offense, meaning the police can pull a driver over solely for holding a device.

  If you were hit by someone who was breaking this law, it completely changes the dynamic of your insurance claim. Michigan statute specifically mandates that if a driver causes an accident while violating the hands-free law, their civil fines are doubled.

  When we file a third-party lawsuit for your pain and suffering, this statutory violation serves as powerful evidence of “negligence per se.” It means the other driver broke a safety law designed to protect you, and their insurance company will have a nearly impossible time trying to deflect the blame.

• What is the Compensation Available to Victims in a Distracted Driving Accident?

  Injuries resulting from a distracted driver accident can be dire and require a long time to heal. Connected to this are the medical bills that can be hefty and long-lasting. Therefore, you must receive financial restitution for these injuries and medical expenses.

  A distracted driver accident attorney with our team can provide you with the right legal counsel for your situation. We can help you recover the funds that you have lost in damages. Further, we can assist you in obtaining the monetary reward you will need to pay for the adjustments to your life that the accident has caused.

  The compensation that may be available to Michigan victims in a distracted driver injury case includes the following:

  • Medical bills for present and future care
  • Lost wages and earning potential
  • Pain and suffering, which could include both physical and emotional distress
  • Therapy
  • Diminished quality of life
  • Repair or replacement of destroyed property in the accident

  Reach out to a distracted driver accident attorney with our legal team. The legal advice that can make a difference in your case is well within your reach. With a lawyer from our team, you can put our expertise with the law to work for you. Call us now to schedule a FREE case evaluation with a Michigan distracted driving accident lawyer.

• What are the Types of Distracted Driving?

  When people think of distracted driving, they may imagine drivers with phones in hand, either talking or texting while driving. There is no doubt that these forms of distracted driving are prevalent and cause Michigan car accidents daily. However, there can be many other types of distracted drivers who can cause a collision at any moment.

  A distracted driving accident can be the result of someone being inattentive to the road, who may be preoccupied with unwrapping a hamburger, for example. It could be an irritated parent who has turned his or her focus from the road to correcting a child.

  How the law perceives the various causes of a distracted driving accident can affect your case. In fact, distracted driving is organized into three main categories. Whether someone is using a cell phone or petting a dog, the specific type of distraction will fall into at least one of these classifications: visual, manual, or cognitive.

  Visual distractions

  Visual distractions cause the focus of the driver’s attention to be divided by what he or she is looking at. A driver with his or her gaze set on a beautiful tree, an immense billboard, or perhaps another car accident can easily miss something crucial in the roadway ahead.

  Although it could seem harmless to have a brief look around, it is dangerous with the sheer distance a motor vehicle can travel in a short time. At 55 mph, a motor vehicle can travel the distance of a football field (360 feet) in 5 seconds. It is vital that a driver remain undistracted by unnecessary visual stimulation.

  Manual distractions

  A manual distraction can be as innocent as an insect buzzing around the driver’s head and him trying to swat it. The key detail to manual distraction is that the driver removes one or both hands from the steering wheel while driving.

  If something or someone is in the driver’s path, he may not notice it due to the distraction. Even if he does see it, he may lack the ability to safely maneuver the car around it in time since both hands are not connected to the driving process.

  Cognitive distractions

  A cognitively distracted driver is physically in the driver’s seat with his hands on the wheel, but his mind is somewhere else. This often occurs on a long stretch of road or when a driver is using a very familiar route. Daydreaming and worry can also preoccupy the person.

  When a cognitive distraction occurs, the driver does not mentally register the cars and pedestrians around him. Sudden changes or obstacles can enter his view but his conscious mind takes no note. Cognitive distractions vary in their degree, but all are dangerous.

• Hit by a Distracted Employee? The Company May Be Liable

  Distracted driving doesn’t just happen on personal time. Every day, sales representatives, delivery drivers, and corporate employees log thousands of miles on Michigan roads while aggressively checking work emails, responding to client texts, or participating in virtual work meetings from behind the wheel.

  If you were hit by someone who was driving for work or conducting company business at the moment of impact, the driver might not be the only one responsible. Under the legal doctrine of respondeat superior (vicarious liability), an employer can be held fully liable for the negligent actions of their employees.

  Pursuing a claim against a corporation or a business entity opens access to commercial insurance policies, which carry significantly higher coverage limits than standard personal auto insurance. If your injuries require long-term medical care, surgery, or forced career changes, tapping into these commercial policies is vital to securing your family’s future financial security. Our team will immediately investigate whether the driver who hit you was “on the clock” so we can hold every corporate entity accountable.

• When can Distractions Be Life-Threatening?

  Each of the distractions mentioned above on their own can cause distracted driving accidents. However, when combined, the result can be even more severe. For example, texting while driving puts these three types of distractions together.

  A texting driver is cognitively distracted by focusing on incoming messages and replying. Such a person is visually distracted, looking at a device rather than the road. He or she is also distracted manually, with one or both hands composing the message.

  Texting is not the only activity that combines the three main types of distractions. However, it does highlight why the use of a cell phone or smartphone while driving is especially treacherous.

  Additionally, car accidents that cause personal injury can happen even if only one of these forms of distractions is taking place. Distracted driving accidents can even involve the hands-free use of a phone.

  A Michigan car accident lawyer with our team can help determine whether your car accident resulted from a driver being cognitively distracted while using a cell phone or smartphone in hands-free mode.

• How We Prove the Other Driver Was Distracted

  After a crash, a distracted driver will almost always try to hide their phone or tell the police officer that they “have no idea what happened.” You might worry that without a confession, you can’t prove they were driving distracted. That is where we step in.

  At Mike Morse Law Firm, we don’t rely on the other driver’s honesty to win your case. We use an aggressive, tech-driven investigative approach to uncover the digital fingerprints they left behind:

  • Cellular Subpoenas: We can legally secure the at-fault driver’s phone logs, data usage timestamps, and text records from their cellular provider to show a direct match between their phone activity and the exact minute of the crash.
  • Vehicle Telematics & Infotainment Downloads: Modern vehicles act like black boxes. We can download data from the vehicle’s internal computer system to see if a phone was interacting with the Bluetooth system, if an app was actively drawing data, or if there was a complete lack of braking before the collision.
  • Dashcams & Nearby Surveillance: We canvas the crash site immediately to pull footage from surrounding businesses, traffic cameras, and witnesses’ dashcams that frequently catch a driver looking down at their lap right before hitting you.