Cell phone records can make or break auto accident injury cases by providing critical evidence of driver distraction. Call logs, text messages, app usage, and location pings recreate the timeframe of events leading up to a crash and indicate negligence. That’s why obtaining and utilizing cell data properly allows an Okemos car accident lawyer to establish accountability when distracted driving contributed to your injury.
The Purpose of Obtaining Cell Phone Records
Cell phone records can provide critical evidence in auto accident cases. They allow personal injury lawyers in Michigan to establish a timeline of events leading up to, during, and after an accident. Records confirm the location of drivers and passengers when the collision occurred.
Cell phone records reveal if drivers were distracted by using their phones when the accident happened. They show who drivers were calling or texting immediately before crashing. Records indicate whether phone use contributed to negligent actions behind the wheel.
Lawyers access phone records to attribute fault and accountability. They use records to reconstruct the accident and show responsibility. Accurate phone logs help support arguments in court and lead to fair case resolutions.
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When to Get a Subpoena for Cell Phone Records
A subpoena should be requested early in an auto accident case investigation. This allows prompt access to records before the cell phone company deletes information. Subpoenas also help lawyers fully understand events leading up to the crash while details are still fresh.
Subpoenas can be issued after you start working with an attorney on your case. Lawyers then formally request the cell phone records via a court order served on the cell phone company. Defendants typically receive notice of the subpoena and can contest it if they have grounds to quash it.
Records should be subpoenaed after initial interviews suggest illegal phone use may have contributed to the accident. If witnesses provide accounts of distracted driving just before the crash, the phone logs can validate or refute those statements. As more facts come to light, the phone records may become relevant evidence.
What Cell Phone Records Show
Cell phone records provide call and text logs, listing all incoming and outgoing communications around the time of an accident, along with the exact date and time conversations occurred. They also show location information based on cell tower pings, which can prove where a driver was when the accident happened and if they were distracted and on the phone at the time of the crash. Records may reveal usage of apps and features indicating if a motorist was texting, accessing social media, or using the internet leading up to the accident, leaving digital footprints of their activity.
Phone records also produce subscriber information for a phone number that identifies who owns a particular device involved in the crash, which helps confirm or dispute who was actually using the phone when the accident took place. They pinpoint if a driver was distracted and on their phone rather than focused on the road when the collision occurred. Ownership data assists in liability decisions.
Cell phone logs can indicate the usage of features like texting, social media, or internet access prior to an accident, leaving digital records of distracting activity leading up to a crash. Records help establish facts about phone use, driver focus, and the role of distraction in causing a collision’s chain of events. They recreate pieces of what happened.
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How to Access the Other Driver’s Records
To access the other driver’s cell phone records, their consent is needed through a signed release form, or if they refuse, records can be subpoenaed directly from the phone service provider. A deposition may compel the defendant to authorize the release of relevant phone records. A subpoena to the phone company should specify a reasonable date range for the records being requested that covers the time period surrounding the accident.
Only ask for call and text logs specifically relevant to proving cell phone distraction caused the crash, and avoid subpoenaing excess data unconnected to the accident altogether. If the records show the defendant was texting or calling while driving when the accident occurred, request their full cell phone usage history for the day of the crash or longer. Establishing a clear pattern of phone use while driving strengthens a negligence case even further against the distracted motorist.
Phone companies typically provide instructions and procedures for properly subpoenaing customer records legally. Carefully following their specific guidelines avoids delays or rejections when seeking court-ordered access to cell data. Be prepared to pay any reasonable administrative fees to obtain relevant call and text logs documenting distraction.
You will always work directly with your attorney throughout your case.
Utilizing the Records Strategically
Cell phone records should be thoroughly analyzed to build a compelling timeline surrounding the accident and demonstrate distracted driving as the cause. Your lawyer will look for calls, texts, or app usage that show negligence leading up to the crash. They will use the logs to align distractions with the defendant’s loss of control behind the wheel.
You and your lawyer can strategically highlight phone records in depositions and arguments that illustrate distraction, such as a lengthy call placed right before the accident, implying attention was diverted from the road. Text messages back and forth also indicate their eyes and focus were directed toward the phone, not driving safely. Prepare demonstrative exhibits for court emphasizing distracted driving using phone logs, such as a detailed timeline chart aligning records of texting and calls with the sequence of events in the accident.
If the defendant contests the records, be prepared to validate their authenticity through the providers. Work to confirm the logs were not tampered with in any way. Overcome any disputes over accuracy, as the records serve as key evidence of negligence.
Work with an Okemos Car Accident Attorney
It can be hard to prove someone was texting and driving when they caused your injuries and accident. Working with an attorney can help you get the proof you need based on the evidence you already have. Contact us for a free consultation to see how White Law PLLC may be able to help.
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