Distracted Driving Truck Crashes

How We Prove a Driver Was on the Phone

A denial is not the end of the inquiry; it is the start. We subpoena the cell carrier’s records, pursue app-level and device data, and line them up against the truck’s engine control module: the moment the braking starts, set against the moment a text was sent or a call connected. When data has been deleted, recovering it is technical work, and it is work we are built to do. One of our founding partners is a trained computer scientist.

It’s Not Only Texting: The Many Forms of Trucker Distraction

Dispatch tablets, the ELD interface, navigation screens, fleet-messaging devices, eating behind the wheel. Modern cabs are full of distractions, several of them installed by the company itself. Distraction caused by the carrier’s own equipment and demands is the company’s responsibility, not just the driver’s.

Why the Company Is Responsible, Not Just the Driver

The motor carrier answers for its driver, and the statutory employer doctrine often makes that true regardless of the contract. Federal law also bans texting and hand-held phone use by commercial drivers outright (49 C.F.R. § 392.80), so a violation is powerful evidence of negligence. When dispatch pressure or company devices contributed to the distraction, the carrier’s exposure only grows. Our pages on 18-wheeler accidents and freight broker liability cover the full chain of responsibility.

What This Looks Like in a Real Case

A child was killed. In the case that followed, against a Fortune 100 company, recovered cell-phone data and hidden social-media evidence moved the outcome from a few million dollars to $29,920,310. The evidence was always there. Someone had to go get it.

Most cases settle, and the number they settle at depends on whether the other side believes your case is ready for a courtroom. Ours always are; our Truck Accidents page shows exactly how we prepare one.

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