Distracted Driving Accident Attorneys
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A phone lit up in the other car, and now your life is on hold. Pain, medical bills, and missed work all trace back to a driver who chose a screen over the road.
You did not cause this crash, but the consequences land on you. The driver may deny using a phone, and the insurer may build its file around that account before anyone collects the records that would show otherwise.
Matz Injury Law builds distracted driving claims out of evidence most people cannot reach on their own: cell phone records, camera footage, and vehicle data. From our Southfield office, we represent injured people across Michigan, including the Upper Peninsula, and we go after that evidence while it still exists.
Why Choose Matz Injury Law for Your Distracted Driving Case
The proof in a distracted driving case has a short shelf life. We open these files with preservation letters and subpoena planning already underway so we can secure the record before an insurer puts a number on your claim.
More Than $300 Million Recovered at a 22% Fee
Our attorneys have recovered more than $300 million for clients across car accident and related claims. One was a $3 million motor vehicle settlement, the largest reported in Michigan at the time, according to Michigan Lawyers Weekly.
The attorneys who reviewed your file have successfully handled crashes like this one all the way through to settlement. No two cases are alike, and past results do not predict what yours will bring.
We charge a 22% contingency fee. On a $500,000 recovery, that leaves about $56,650 more with you than a 33⅓% fee would, money that goes toward medical care, lost income, and everything else the crash cost you.
How We Handle Distracted Driving Cases
We move on a distracted driving file the week it comes in. Preservation letters go out first, then subpoenas for the phone records, and accident reconstruction professionals come in while the vehicles and the scene can still be examined.
Steven and Jared Matz personally handle every case. The attorneys deciding which records to chase and when to push toward trial have read your file themselves, not a case manager’s summary of it.
Meet Our Distracted Driving Accident Lawyers
Client Testimonials
“I cannot recommend Steve and his team highly enough. From the very first consultation, the team was professional, compassionate, and incredibly knowledgeable. They took the time to explain every step of the process, answered all my questions, and made sure I felt confident and supported throughout my case. Their attention to detail and dedication truly made a difference. They fought hard on my behalf and achieved a result that exceeded my expectations. Communication was always clear and timely, and I never felt like ‘just another client.’ If you’re looking for a law firm that genuinely cares and delivers outstanding results, this is the one to call. Thank you for everything!” — T.R.
“I highly recommend Matz Law. Despite multiple attorneys undervaluing my case, Steve secured a significantly higher result. Moreover, by charging a 22% fee instead of the typical 33%, I retained a substantial portion of my recovery. Steve, was knowledgeable, transparent, and always available to answer any questions and to explain the process. I appreciated his persistence in handling this complex and frustrating process. Though Steve was always professional, he treated me with the genuineness of a friend. I confidently recommend Steve Matz to anyone seeking strong representation.” — E.T.
“Absolutely the most amazing lawyer we could have asked for . I couldn’t thank you enough for sticking with us and helping us with everything! Jared is the guy for you ! 10/10” — V.T.
What Is Distracted Driving Under Michigan Law?
Michigan law defines distracted driving through MCL 257.602b, which bars a driver from holding or using a mobile electronic device. Holding means supporting that device with any part of the hands, arms, or shoulders.
The rule changed in 2023. The older law reached texting while driving and little else, and the current version covers nearly any hands-on phone use, including calls, video, and social media.
Hands-free mode and a mounted device you operate with a single touch are still allowed. If the driver who hit you was holding a phone, that violation becomes part of what you can prove.
A phone is only one source. Crashes come from three kinds of distraction:
- Visual: Eyes off the road, such as reading a text or checking a GPS screen.
- Manual: Hands off the wheel while eating or reaching for something that fell.
- Cognitive: Attention somewhere other than driving, such as replaying an argument after the light turns green.
A driver can be hands-free and still distracted, so cell phone records alone do not settle everything.
A first violation is a civil infraction carrying a $100 fine, 16 hours of community service, or both, and the fine doubles when the driver was at fault in a crash. Repeat offenses and commercial drivers carry higher penalties under Michigan’s texting and distracted driving laws.
Can You Sue a Distracted Driver in Michigan?
Yes. Michigan’s no-fault system starts with your own personal injury protection (PIP) benefits, which cover medical expenses and part of your lost wages regardless of who caused the crash.
You may also have a separate third-party claim against the distracted driver. Under MCL 500.3135, economic losses beyond your available PIP benefits may be recoverable, and pain and suffering becomes available once your injury meets Michigan’s serious impairment threshold.
Your share of fault matters too. If you are more than 50% at fault, you cannot recover non-economic damages; if you are 50% or less at fault, the court reduces those damages by your percentage of fault.
What Qualifies as a Serious Injury in Michigan?
Only three kinds of injury allow a pain-and-suffering claim in Michigan: death, permanent serious disfigurement, or serious impairment of body function. The statute defines only the third, and MCL 500.3135(5) sets three requirements that all have to be met:
- Objective signs: Someone other than you can observe or perceive the impairment from actual symptoms or conditions.
- An important body function: The function affected carries real value, significance, or consequence to you, such as walking, lifting, gripping, or concentrating.
- An effect on your normal life: The impairment has influenced some of your capacity to live the way you did before.
The statute sets no minimum duration, so an impairment does not have to be permanent to qualify. The first requirement calls for objective evidence, so your medical records do more of the work here than your own description of the pain, and an attorney who reads those records against all three requirements can tell you early whether a pain-and-suffering claim is realistic.
How Do You Prove a Driver Was Distracted?
Records prove distraction. The other driver rarely admits to it, and most of the proof that does exist starts disappearing within days of the crash. Five sources carry it:
- Cell phone records: Once suit is filed, an attorney can subpoena call logs, text timestamps, and data usage that place the phone in use at the moment of impact. Carriers overwrite some of it within days.
- The police report: The investigating officer records what they saw, what the driver said, and whether a citation was issued.
- Camera footage: Dashcams, traffic cameras, and cameras on nearby buildings catch the seconds before a crash, and most record over themselves.
- Vehicle data: Infotainment and telematics systems log what the driver was touching before impact.
- Witnesses: Other drivers, passengers, and bystanders can describe the phone in the driver’s hand or the drift across the lane.
We send preservation letters in the first days of a case to keep those records available. Once a citation and the phone data line up, the insurer has far less room to argue the driver was paying attention. A free consultation early on is what gets those letters out while the records still exist.
What Compensation Can You Recover?
Compensation comes from two sources: your own PIP benefits and the at-fault driver’s insurer.
PIP benefits pay regardless of fault:
- Medical care: All reasonably necessary crash-related treatment, for life if you carry unlimited PIP coverage.
- Wage loss: 85% of your pre-tax wages for up to three years, tax-free and subject to a monthly maximum the state adjusts each year.
- Replacement services: Up to $20 a day for three years for household help a doctor finds medically necessary.
- Attendant care: Nurse’s aide services by the hour when medically necessary.
- Mileage: Reimbursement for travel to doctors, hospitals, and therapy.
Since 2020, Michigan drivers choose a PIP medical limit of $250,000, $500,000, or unlimited, with a $50,000 option for drivers enrolled in Medicaid. Your declarations page shows which one you carry.
The at-fault driver’s insurer covers economic losses above those limits, plus pain and suffering, mental anguish, loss of enjoyment of life, and loss of consortium. Michigan does not allow punitive damages, so every dollar of an award has to compensate a real loss. It is worth having an attorney review any early offer before you accept it.
How Long Do You Have to File a Distracted Driving Accident Claim in Michigan?
You generally have three years from the date of the crash to file a lawsuit against the at-fault driver under MCL 600.5805(2). Once that deadline passes, the claim is generally barred no matter how strong the evidence.
PIP benefits carry a shorter deadline. Under MCL 500.3145, you generally have one year from the accident to sue your insurer for PIP benefits unless you gave written notice of the injury within that year or the insurer already paid benefits for it.
Where notice was given or benefits were paid, you may have more time to file. The one-year-back rule still limits recovery to losses incurred in the year before you filed.
Different rules apply when the injured person was under 18 at the time of the crash. Under MCL 600.5851, a minor generally has at least one year after turning 18 to file against the at-fault driver, even where the standard period has already run. If a child were injured in a distracted driving crash, we could sort out which deadlines apply to which claim.
How to Choose a Distracted Driving Lawyer in Michigan
The first question worth asking any distracted driving attorney is who will actually handle your case after the intake call. These claims need fast decisions about preserving phone records and video, issuing subpoenas, bringing in reconstruction professionals, and evaluating the claim under Michigan no-fault law.
Ask, too, how a distracted driving accident attorney prepares a case when an insurer disputes fault or the value of the claim. What you want to hear is that the firm is ready to file suit and try the case if negotiations stall. That readiness is part of what an adjuster weighs when deciding what to offer.
Fee structure is the third question. Ask what percentage the firm takes, whether it changes if the case goes to trial, and what case costs come out of your share. Ours stays at 22% through trial, and we walk through exactly how it applies during your free consultation.
Reach Out Before the Evidence in Your Michigan Distracted Driving Case Disappears
The cell phone records, surveillance video, and dashcam footage from your crash will not stay available forever. We send preservation requests as soon as a case opens, so an early start protects records a later one cannot.
A free consultation costs nothing and commits you to nothing, and there is no attorney fee unless we recover compensation for you. Getting that conversation on the calendar before more of the record is overwritten is what protects the evidence behind your claim.
Call us at 866-226-6833, or reach out through our contact form.
Written By Steven Matz
Steven J. Matz is the founder of Matz Injury Law, specializing in personal injury litigation with a focus on car accident victims. With over 40 years of legal experience, Mr. Matz has achieved numerous million-dollar settlements. He holds an AV Preeminent rating from Martindale-Hubbell and has been recognized among Michigan’s Top Attorneys. Steven J. Matz is a frequent lecturer on legal ethics and personal injury law, and serves on the Michigan Attorney Discipline Board.
