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Knowledge, experience, and dedication have brought the lawyers of The Epstein Law Firm to the forefront of their profession. From personal injury to civil litigation, they have built a strong record of success in achieving justice for their clients.
Our practice is diverse and well-established. Recognizing that every case is unique, we always begin by listening to you.
The Epstein Law Firm, P.A. has been successfully representing clients throughout New Jersey since 1973
A driver can put a phone away before anyone reaches the damaged cars. That does not necessarily erase the evidence, but it makes the sequence of events important: what the driver was doing, when attention left the road, and how that contributed to your injuries.
The Epstein Law Firm helps people injured in New Jersey texting and driving accidents investigate those questions. Our car accident practice addresses the broader collision claim; this page explains the particular problems that arise when a phone may have distracted the driver. You do not need to obtain someone else’s private phone records before asking for help.
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New Jersey Texting While Driving Accidents
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Tell the investigating officer what you observed, as precisely as you can. Seeing a driver look down is different from seeing a phone in the driver’s hand or hearing the driver admit to reading a message. Both may warrant investigation, but an accurate account is more useful than a confident guess.
If your condition and safety allow, record witnesses’ names and contact details, the position of the vehicles, nearby cameras and anything the driver said. Do not step into traffic, confront the driver or try to take a device. Treatment and immediate safety come first. A family member can help organize documents afterward without reconstructing details you do not remember.
NHTSA describes distracted driving as activity that takes attention away from driving. That includes more than texting. If the evidence ultimately shows another distraction, the investigation should follow the facts rather than force the collision into the original suspicion.
A useful investigation asks more than whether a driver owns a phone or sent messages that day. It asks whether relevant activity occurred around the collision and whether it helps explain a missed signal, delayed braking, lane departure or another driving error.
Records worth discussing with counsel include:
These sources must be read together. A message timestamp alone may not establish who handled a device or precisely when someone looked at it. Video may show vehicle movement without showing the driver’s hands. Conflicting timestamps require attention to what each clock or record actually measures.
The Epstein Law Firm’s texting accident representation includes examining phone records and pursuing the evidence behind a distracted-driving claim. Tell us promptly about potentially relevant cameras, messages or admissions so we can discuss appropriate preservation steps. Do not delete, edit or reset your own relevant records, and do not access another person’s account or device without authorization.
New Jersey’s Motor Vehicle Commission explains the restrictions on handheld calls and electronic messages, including limited emergency use. Hands-free equipment does not give a driver permission to ignore the road. License restrictions and the circumstances of the use also matter.
A traffic case and an injury claim ask different questions. A citation concerns enforcement of a driving rule; an injury claim must address responsibility for the collision and the harm it caused. Avoid assuming that an officer’s decision to issue, or not issue, a phone ticket answers every compensation question.
New Jersey’s ordinary-care standard considers what a reasonably careful person would do under the circumstances. In practice, the investigation examines the driving itself as well as the device. Evidence of a distraction should be connected to the collision rather than presented as proof that every injury or expense automatically belongs to the other driver.
Medical bills can arrive before anyone has secured phone information. New Jersey personal injury protection, or PIP, can pay covered medical expenses without deciding which driver caused the crash. The applicable policy, coverage selections and any health-insurance-primary election need review.
Report the collision to the appropriate insurer and keep claim numbers, correspondence, bills and explanation-of-benefits notices together. Give providers accurate insurance information. If payment is denied, save the written reason and the date you received it; do not assume a disagreement about the other driver’s texting explains the denial.
A separate claim against the responsible party may concern losses that the available benefits do not resolve. Review New Jersey’s coverage and lawsuit options with counsel: when the limitation-on-lawsuit option applies, pain-and-suffering recovery has an injury threshold. Strong evidence of texting does not by itself remove that requirement or make every claimed expense recoverable.
Phone evidence addresses how the crash happened. Medical and work records address its consequences. Keep the two parts of the claim organized so a clear account of fault is not accompanied by incomplete proof of the losses.
Useful records include:
Describe limitations accurately, including activities you can still perform. Follow treatment recommendations and tell your provider when symptoms change. The claim should reflect your actual condition and prognosis, not an online settlement estimate or a demand based only on the driver’s conduct.
For a crash investigated by New Jersey State Police, begin with the official crash-report request guidance. It explains the information used to search, including a case number or involved-party details, and separate procedures for serious or fatal crash materials. Confirm the investigating agency first; a municipal department’s report may require a different request route.
Save the report and identify any factual discrepancy for discussion. A report request is not an injury lawsuit, and waiting for records does not protect a filing deadline. Keep the case number and the investigating agency’s name available when contacting a lawyer.
New Jersey generally allows two years after a personal-injury claim accrues to file suit, subject to exceptions. A claim involving a public entity or employee may also require a notice of claim within 90 days, with the correct recipient and other requirements needing prompt review.
A texting investigation is useful only if it supports the injured person’s full claim. The Epstein Law Firm’s published vehicle-injury results include a settlement for a child passenger with significant neurological injuries. Those results show experience with serious crash injuries; they should not be read as proof that texting caused those particular crashes or as a prediction for your case.
For your first conversation, explain what you know about the suspected phone use, what treatment you have received and which insurers have contacted you. Bring available records, but do not delay contact while trying to assemble a perfect file. We can discuss the missing information and the issues it may help resolve.
Contact The Epstein Law Firm to discuss your New Jersey texting accident. An investigation should give you a clearer account of the available evidence and the decisions ahead, without promising what a disputed record or an insurer will ultimately establish.
Tell our team what you observed and how the collision has affected your recovery. Bring available witness, treatment and insurance information so we can discuss the suspected distraction and the next steps.
Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome. Each case depends on its own facts, evidence, and applicable law.
These excerpts describe experiences with the firm. They are not identified as cases in this practice area and do not predict another outcome.
“They took the time to explain everything clearly, making sure I understood my options and felt comfortable with each step of the process.”
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These answers provide general information. The collision facts, policy terms, available evidence and applicable law can change the analysis.
Yes, the absence of a personal view of the phone does not by itself prevent an investigation of a crash claim. Your account may concern the vehicle’s movement, the traffic signal or what happened at impact. Other evidence may address a possible distraction, and the eventual claim may rest on unsafe driving even if texting cannot be established.
Explain what you actually observed and what someone else told you. Keep those accounts separate so an investigation can assess their reliability. A witness who saw a device may provide useful information, but no one should turn suspicion into a claimed fact. The focus remains the driver’s conduct, its connection to the crash and the injuries that followed.
Sources: New Jersey Courts — Negligence and Ordinary Care; NHTSA — Distracted Driving.
No. Hands-free operation does not establish that a driver was paying adequate attention to traffic. New Jersey permits certain hands-free use subject to its rules, while the Motor Vehicle Commission warns about the distraction. The legal and factual inquiry includes how the vehicle was being operated, not simply where the phone was located.
Describe any delayed reaction, missed signal or movement you observed without assuming the call caused it. The circumstances may support a negligence claim even when a handheld-phone violation is not established. Different license restrictions may also apply. A lawyer should evaluate the actual driver and conduct rather than treat a Bluetooth connection as automatic proof of either safety or fault.
Sources: New Jersey MVC — Just Drive; New Jersey Courts — Negligence and Ordinary Care.
No. Do not assume that every message, application record or deleted item will be available. The Epstein Law Firm describes reviewing phone records in texting cases, but what can actually be obtained and used depends on the evidence, its availability and the lawful process for obtaining it. A record of activity also needs interpretation within the collision timeline.
Bring your own relevant messages and identify any witness who may have additional information. Preserve originals rather than supplying only edited excerpts, and ask counsel about appropriate preservation. Never try to enter the other driver’s account yourself. NHTSA identifies distractions beyond texting, so an investigation should also consider witnesses and driving behavior rather than depend entirely on retrieving messages.
Sources: The Epstein Law Firm — Texting While Driving Accidents; NHTSA — Distracted Driving.
No. A phone citation does not determine the amount of an injury claim or establish that all claimed losses resulted from the collision. Traffic enforcement addresses the driving violation. The injury claim also involves the crash evidence, the injuries and losses, and the insurance coverage that may respond.
Keep a copy of any summons information you receive, but do not rely on it as the entire case. Treatment records, policy documents and the circumstances of impact still matter. Conversely, if no citation was issued, counsel can consider other evidence of careless driving. The driver’s attention and conduct require assessment within the actual event, alongside the applicable coverage and legal requirements.
Sources: New Jersey MVC — Just Drive; New Jersey Courts — Negligence and Ordinary Care; NJDOBI — Standard Auto Insurance Policy.
Applicable PIP coverage may pay covered medical costs without waiting for a decision about fault. New Jersey describes PIP as no-fault coverage for people covered by the policy. Where a valid health-insurance-primary option applies, health coverage may pay first and the auto policy may provide secondary coverage, subject to the relevant requirements.
Ask which claim number your providers should use and keep copies of notices about payment or denial. Coverage limits, deductibles and treatment requirements need individual review; a texting allegation does not promise unlimited benefits. The process for obtaining treatment benefits is separate from proving another driver’s responsibility and pursuing whatever additional damages the law and evidence support.
Sources: NJDOBI — Selecting Your Health Insurer for PIP; NJDOBI — Standard Auto Insurance Policy.
Yes. When the limitation-on-lawsuit option applies, it can restrict a claim for pain and suffering unless the injury meets the applicable legal threshold. DOBI explains that this option concerns noneconomic losses and differs from the rules for economic losses and PIP benefits. Proof that the other driver was texting does not, by itself, answer the injury-threshold question.
Give counsel your coverage-selection information and relevant medical records. Do not assume that a diagnosis alone conclusively establishes the threshold, or that choosing limited rights eliminates every possible claim. The proper analysis considers which option applies, the nature and proof of the injury, and the losses being sought rather than grouping every expense into pain and suffering.
Sources: NJDOBI — Standard Auto Insurance Policy and Right to Sue; NJDOBI — Personal Injury Protection.
An allegation of shared fault does not automatically end a New Jersey negligence claim. The comparative-negligence statute permits recovery when your negligence is not greater than that of the person, or combined persons, against whom recovery is sought. Recoverable damages are reduced by the percentage of negligence attributed to you.
That makes the reason for the allegation important. Ask what driving conduct and evidence support it rather than accepting an unexplained percentage. Your own recollection, witnesses and available recordings may help address the account of the collision. Evidence that the other driver was texting is relevant to investigate, but it does not remove the need to examine your conduct or other contributing circumstances fairly.
Sources: N.J.S.A. 2A:15-5.1 — Comparative Negligence; New Jersey Courts — Negligence and Ordinary Care.
No. You can discuss a potential claim while a report request is pending. The report can supply useful information, but it is not the only possible source of evidence and obtaining it does not extend a lawsuit deadline. Have the collision date, location and investigating agency available even if you do not yet have a completed report.
For State Police records, the official request guidance explains search information and procedures for different materials. Keep your request confirmation and give counsel the report when it arrives. Identify factual concerns without altering the document. Early discussion can also identify other information worth preserving while the agency completes its work, without assuming the report will settle every disputed fact.
Sources: New Jersey State Police — Crash Report Request Help; N.J.S.A. 2A:14-2 — Personal-Injury Filing Period.
An ordinary New Jersey personal-injury lawsuit generally must be filed within two years after the claim accrues, subject to exceptions. A potential claim against a public entity or employee may involve an earlier notice requirement, generally within 90 days. Those rules address different steps, and identifying the correct defendant and recipient matters.
Do not calculate your deadline solely from an online summary, especially where a child, public vehicle or another unusual circumstance is involved. Share the incident date and any existing notices with counsel promptly. Reporting the crash to police, requesting documents or discussing payment with an insurer should not be treated as a substitute for the filings required to preserve a claim.
Sources: N.J.S.A. 2A:14-2 — Personal-Injury Filing Period; New Jersey Treasury — Tort Claim Notice Instructions.
Bring the information you already have about the collision, your injuries and insurance contacts. That may include a report number, photographs, witness details, relevant messages, treatment paperwork and policy documents. You do not need to supply the other driver’s private phone records before speaking with The Epstein Law Firm about possible representation.
Explain why you believe texting was involved and distinguish your observation from a witness’s account or an assumption. Mention any approaching deadline or document the insurer has asked you to sign. The first conversation can identify missing information and issues requiring further review. It is not a promise that the available evidence will prove texting or that a particular settlement will follow.
Sources: The Epstein Law Firm — Texting Accident Representation; New Jersey State Police — Crash Report Request Help; N.J.S.A. 2A:14-2 — Personal-Injury Filing Period.
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The Epstein Law Firm
The Epstein Law Firm