A car insurance company that is trying to allocate fault for an automobile accident might request a driver’s cell phone records to determine if they were distracted by a call or text message. Before you comply with any insurance company request for your cell phone information, call Douglas & London to speak with a New York car accident attorney about how you should respond to that request.
You Have No General Obligation to Give Your Cell Phone Records to Another Driver’s Car Insurance Company
When you are in an accident with another driver, that driver’s insurer might directly contact you to ask you questions about the accident and to request your phone records and other information. You have no obligation to give them those records or even to speak with them. They can use whatever you say to argue that you caused the accident. Your safest course of action is to retain an experienced car accident attorney to negotiate with the other driver’s insurance company on your behalf.
Your Own Car Insurance Policy Might Require You to Provide Cell Records to Your Insurer
Your policy might include contractual terms and conditions that obligate you to give your cell records to your insurance company. If you withhold your records, your insurer may deny coverage for any claims that you file. Regardless, you do need to exercise caution when you respond to your own insurer’s requests.
Your cell phone likely includes records not only of your calls and texts but also of your driving habits, which can be derived from mapping and GPS apps. If you’ve been in an accident, consult with us before you give anyone access to your cell phone to verify that you are not inadvertently giving more information than you are required.
Your Phone Records Can Be Requested Through Discovery in an Accident and Injury Lawsuit
The discovery process in an accident and injury lawsuit allows both parties to request documents and information from each other for both proof and defenses for their arguments. If you fail to respond to a discovery request, the other party can seek to have a court compel you to respond or to hold you in contempt, and further they can try to subpoena your cell phone records directly from your service provider.
An experienced car accident attorney will know how best to respond to discovery requests and to limit responses to the specific information and records that are relevant to the facts of the case.
How Cell Phone Record Can Be Used to Allocate Fault
Liability for car accidents in New York State is analyzed under standards of pure comparative negligence. This means that an injured party’s negligence and contribution to an accident will not prevent them from recovering damages, but the amount will be reduced in proportion to their fault.
If you suffered injuries in a car accident, the other party’s insurer could use your cell phone records to argue that you were distracted by a call or text immediately before the accident. Mapping and GPS app information might also show that you were driving too fast, or that you made an insufficient effort to slow down or stop to avoid an accident.
Cell phone information is a valuable tool for all parties in a car accident. When you retain a car accident lawyer for assistance in recovering the damages you deserve, make sure that your lawyer knows how to leverage that information for your benefit.
Call the New York Car Accident Lawyers at Douglas & London For Information on Providing Cell Phone Records
The car accident attorneys at Douglas and London in Manhattan represent victims to recover the largest amount of damages that may be available to compensate them for their losses and their injuries.
Our lawyers have the knowledge and expertise to use other parties’ cell records to demonstrate their negligence for causing the accident as well as expediently responding to other requests for information.
Please see our website or call Douglas and London after you have suffered injuries and losses in an automobile collision anywhere in New York. We will fight aggressively to recover the compensation you deserve and to protect your cell phone records from misuse by any other parties.
Additional Resources:
- Auto Insurance, Can a Car Insurance Company Check Phone Records? https://www.autoinsurance.org/can-auto-insurance-companies-check-phone-records/
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Distracted Driving, https://www.cdc.gov/motorvehiclesafety/distracted_driving/index.html
- Insurance Panda, Can Car Insurance Companies Check Phone Records? https://www.insurancepanda.com/5215/can-car-insurance-companies-check-phone-records/