A driver who caused a crash while distracted is liable for the full cost of the resulting injuries, including medical expenses, lost income, and pain and suffering. The legal challenge in these cases is almost always about evidence, phone records, app data, vehicle telematics, and witness accounts that can reconstruct what a driver was doing in the seconds before a crash, but some of that evidence disappears within days.
The Slocum Firm, P.C., handles distracted driving accident cases across Allentown, Bethlehem, and the surrounding Lehigh Valley. Call or text (570) 209-7376 or toll-free at (888) 367-4577 anytime. No fees unless we recover.
What Pennsylvania Law Says About Distracted Driving
Pennsylvania law prohibits interactive wireless communication devices while operating a motor vehicle under 75 Pa. C.S. §3316. This includes texting, emailing, browsing, and other handheld phone use. It does not ban hands-free calls, mounted GPS navigation, or integrated vehicle systems. Handheld use while driving is a statutory violation while operating a motor vehicle.
A violation can support negligence per se in Pennsylvania courts. Under this doctrine, breaking a traffic safety statute may establish duty and breach when the law protects against the type of harm involved. A texting driver before a crash may satisfy key negligence elements before trial.
Distraction is not limited to phones. Eating, adjusting controls, passenger interaction, or reaching for objects may also constitute inattention. Circumstantial evidence includes a lack of skid marks, impact angles, and damage patterns showing no braking or steering correction, helping establish liability.
Pennsylvania’s statute of limitations for personal injury is two years from the accident under 42 Pa. C.S. §5524.
Phone Records and Electronic Evidence: How Distraction Is Proved
Wireless carrier records, call logs, text timestamps, and data usage logs can be subpoenaed in civil discovery to determine whether a driver was actively using a phone at the time of a crash. They are powerful evidence of distraction, but must be preserved early.
Many modern vehicles have event data recorders (EDRs) that store speed, braking, throttle, and steering inputs seconds before impact. This data shows whether a driver braked, swerved, or maintained speed, helping reconstruct actions leading up to the crash and assess liability.
An evidence preservation letter sent immediately to the driver and insurer prevents vehicle repair or data overwrite before critical electronic evidence is secured.
Social media posts, messages, and app activity can also establish phone use near the time of a crash. Navigation, rideshare, or delivery app logs may confirm active engagement, typically obtained through subpoena or court order.
The Slocum Firm, P.C., issues preservation demands immediately in distracted driving cases. Call (570) 209-7376 or (888) 367-4577 for a free case review available at any time.
Commercial Drivers and Fleet Vehicles: A Different Standard
A crash caused by a commercial driver, delivery worker, or fleet vehicle operator opens additional legal avenues beyond the driver’s personal policy. Employers can be held vicariously liable for the negligent acts of employees under the respondeat superior doctrine when the employee was acting within the scope of employment at the time of the crash.
A delivery driver checking order confirmations on a handheld device while making runs along Route 22 was acting within the scope of employment. The employer shares responsibility for the resulting harm.
Commercial fleets increasingly use telematics systems that record driver behavior continuously, including phone use, hard braking events, speed, and route data. That fleet data is accessible through civil discovery and often provides the clearest account of what a commercial driver was doing at the moment of a crash.
Employers sometimes resist producing this data, which is why having legal representation pursuing it through formal discovery from the beginning matters.
Commercial liability policies carry substantially higher limits than personal auto policies. Pennsylvania’s minimum required auto liability coverage is $15,000 per person and $30,000 per accident, codified at 75 Pa. C.S. Section 1702. Commercial fleet policies routinely carry limits many times higher.
When the distracted driver was on the job, the total compensation available may be significantly larger than what a personal policy covers. Identifying the employer, the fleet insurer, and all applicable commercial coverage is part of the initial investigation in every commercial vehicle case.
Gig Economy Drivers and the Growing Problem on Allentown Roads
A crash caused by a food delivery or rideshare driver involves insurance coverage that works differently from a standard personal auto policy. The driver’s platform status at the moment of the crash determines which coverage applies and how much is available.
The legal analysis for a crash caused by a gig driver depends on whether the driver was logged into the platform, whether a delivery or ride request was active, and what the platform’s insurance policy covers at each stage of driver activity.
Rideshare and delivery companies maintain different coverage levels depending on the driver’s app status at the moment of the crash. These distinctions determine the correct insurance source and total coverage available. An attorney should review the platform status and applicable policy immediately.
Injuries From Distracted Driving Crashes and What They Cost
Distracted drivers frequently make no attempt to brake or swerve before impact because they do not see the collision coming. The result is often a full-speed impact that produces injuries more severe than a crash where even partial evasive action was possible.
Rear-end crashes at highway speed on Route 22 or I-78 caused by a driver looking at a phone produce serious and often permanent injuries.
Compensation in a distracted driving case covers present and future medical expenses, lost income, reduced future earning capacity if injuries are permanent, pain and suffering, emotional distress, and property damage, including vehicle replacement. For serious injuries, a vocational specialist and life care planner may be needed to document the full financial impact of the crash over the victim’s lifetime.
When a distracted driving crash results in a death, surviving family members may pursue a wrongful death claim and a survival action simultaneously. Pennsylvania law provides separate recovery paths for each, codified at 42 Pa. C.S. Sections 8301 and 8302.
The wrongful death claim allows recovery for lost financial support, funeral expenses, and loss of companionship. The survival action allows the estate to pursue damages the victim would have been entitled to had they survived.
How The Slocum Firm, P.C. Handles Distracted Driving Cases in Allentown
The Slocum Firm, P.C., has handled personal injury cases across Pennsylvania for more than 15 years. With over 50 years of combined attorney experience and a recovery rate above 95 percent, we know that distracted driving cases are built or broken in the first days after the crash.
From the first call, you work directly with an attorney. We issue preservation letters immediately, identify all insurance coverage, including any applicable commercial policy, review crash scene data and available surveillance footage, and initiate the discovery process for phone records and vehicle telematics as soon as the case is filed.
Most cases resolve in under a year. We work on a full contingency basis. No upfront costs. No fees unless there is a recovery. Call or text (570) 209-7376 or toll-free at (888) 367-4577 any time.
Frequently Asked Questions: Distracted Driving Claims in the Lehigh Valley
The driver denied being on their phone, and the police report does not mention distraction. Can I still pursue a distracted driving claim?
Yes. Police reports are not a final determination of cause. Phone records, vehicle event data recorder output, and witness accounts can establish distraction entirely independently of what the police report says. Many successful distracted driving cases are built on electronic evidence gathered after the crash.
What if the distracted driver was using a hands-free device at the time of the crash?
Hands-free use is lawful under Pennsylvania law, but it does not eliminate a negligence claim. Cognitive distraction from a hands-free call can impair a driver’s ability to respond to hazards. Whether that distraction caused the crash is a factual question evaluated through vehicle behavior data and eyewitness accounts. A statutory violation is not required to establish negligence.
Can I still recover compensation if the crash happened partly because of road conditions in addition to the driver’s distraction?
Yes. Multiple contributing causes are common and do not bar recovery. Pennsylvania’s modified comparative negligence rule allows recovery as long as your share of fault does not exceed 50 percent, codified at 42 Pa. C.S. Section 7102. A road condition caused by a government entity’s failure to maintain a public road may also create a separate claim with its own filing requirements.
What if the distracted driver was a teenager operating their parent’s vehicle?
Pennsylvania prohibits any mobile phone use by drivers under 18, codified at 75 Pa. C.S. Section 1504(d). A minor violating that provision faces the same negligence per se analysis as an adult. The parent or vehicle owner may also face liability under negligent entrustment theories if they allowed a restricted driver to use their vehicle. An attorney should evaluate all potential defendants.
What happens if the at-fault driver’s insurer argues the crash was caused by a mechanical defect rather than distraction?
Mechanical defect is a common insurer argument to shift focus from driver behavior. Vehicle event data recorder output addresses this directly; it shows throttle, steering, and braking behavior in the seconds before impact. A distracted driver typically shows none of those inputs. A mechanical failure typically shows ineffective steering or braking attempts. An accident reconstruction specialist interprets this data when the facts are disputed.
The Evidence That Proves Your Case Has an Expiration Date
Wireless carriers do not store detailed phone records indefinitely. Vehicle event data recorders can be cleared when a vehicle is repaired. Fleet telematics data overwrites on a rolling schedule that varies by system. A distracted driving case built a month after the crash is working with fewer resources than a case built the same week.
The Slocum Firm, P.C., has handled distracted driving cases across the Lehigh Valley for more than 15 years. We send preservation demands on day one, before carriers purge records and before vehicles are repaired. We have recovered millions for Pennsylvania injury victims, with a recovery rate above 95 percent, and most cases are resolved in under a year. Results may vary. Prior case outcomes do not guarantee similar results.
Call or text (570) 209-7376 or toll-free at (888) 367-4577 any time of day. Consultations are free. No fees unless there is a recovery.
