Skilled Advocates for Nassau and Queens Families Hurt by Distracted Drivers
Bornstein & Emanuel, P.C. represents people injured by distracted drivers throughout Nassau County, Queens, and the New York City area. Personal injury is the only work this firm has done since 1992. These claims often turn on proof an injured person cannot gather alone, including the other driver’s phone activity before impact. We treat that investigation as standard in every car accident claim we accept, under New York rules that changed significantly in 2026.
Why Injured New Yorkers Trust Bornstein & Emanuel, P.C.
Choosing a lawyer after a crash caused by a distracted driver is not just about credentials. It’s about knowing your case will get the urgency it needs before evidence disappears. Bornstein & Emanuel, P.C. has spent more than three decades building that reputation among Nassau County, Queens, and greater New York City families, with results that speak louder than any promise. Clients choose this firm for reasons that matter here:
- A single focus since 1992: Personal injury is all this firm handles, so these claims are core work.
- Evidence first: We pursue carrier records, vehicle data, video, and witness accounts before they expire.
- Boutique attention: We have kept our practice small on purpose so that injured clients get direct access to the attorneys handling their case, not a call center. A small, dedicated practice means personal attention rather than a case number.
- Se habla español: Spanish-speaking staff serve immigrant families and neighbors other firms overlook.
- No fee unless we recover: Consultations are free, and this firm is paid only out of a recovery.
Distracted driving cases are won or lost in the days right after a crash, and the firms best equipped to help are the ones who pick up the phone and start working immediately. If a distracted driver changed your life, the sooner this firm can start preserving proof, the stronger your case will be.
What New York Law Says About Phones Behind the Wheel
New York restricts phone use behind the wheel through two statutes. One statute covers hand-held calls and excepts hands-free devices, though for a commercial driver a phone does not count as hands-free when answering it takes more than a single button press. The other covers texting and other screens.
Both statutes carve out emergency calls to police, fire, medical, and ambulance services, and both exempt officers and emergency responders on duty, so phone activity by itself does not establish a violation. State officials call distraction the number one contributing factor in New York crashes, and federal figures show it claimed 3,208 lives nationwide in 2024.
The device statute reaches a driver who holds a device while the vehicle is in motion and views, takes, or transmits images, plays a game, or, for the purpose of present or future communication, does any of the following:
- Composes, sends, reads, or views an e-mail, text message, or instant message
- Performs a command or request to access a web page
- Accesses, browses, transmits, saves, or retrieves other electronic data
Commercial drivers face a stricter version that reaches a truck sitting in traffic or held at a signal, but not one pulled to the side of or off the road where stopping is allowed. A violation is a traffic infraction. The fine runs from $50 to $200 for a first offense. A second offense carries up to $250 and a third up to $450, in each case where the earlier violations fell within the same 18 months.
How We Prove the Other Driver Was Distracted
Drivers rarely admit they were on a phone, and the crash report often says nothing. New York supplies a presumption and a discovery tool.
The presumptions come from the statutes. A driver who holds a device in a conspicuous manner while operating a vehicle is presumed to be using it. A driver who holds a phone to or near an ear while the vehicle is in motion is presumed to be on a call. Both are rebuttable, and both are written for the traffic case, so a witness who saw a phone in hand is a starting point, not proof of the civil claim.
Discovery reaches further. New York permits full disclosure of matter material and necessary to a case, subject to privilege and attorney work product. That reach extends to non-parties such as a wireless carrier, on notice stating why the records are needed. Once an action is commenced, a party may subpoena a non-party for designated records, allowing at least 20 days and describing each category with reasonable particularity. Timing matters. Before a case is filed, that disclosure requires a court order. Filing opens the direct route. Records held by a municipal agency, including many traffic camera and police files, still take a court order rather than a plain subpoena. We pursue:
- Carrier logs showing calls, texts, and data sessions timed to the impact
- The device itself, examined for application activity, screen use, and unlocks
- Vehicle infotainment and event data, which can record a paired phone
- Business, traffic, and dashboard camera video
- Statements from passengers, bystanders, and other drivers
Together, those sources reconstruct the seconds that matter, especially where a crash caused a traumatic brain injury or a commercial truck adds motor carrier records.
How Shared Fault Changes What You Recover
New York changed this rule on May 26, 2026, for actions commenced on or after that date. In most injury cases the state still follows pure comparative fault, where a share of blame reduces an award but never wipes it out. Now, claims that fall under the state no-fault article no longer work that way.
In a personal injury action subject to that article, which covers most motor vehicle injury cases, an injured person recovers nothing when their share of fault is greater than the fault of the person they sued, or greater than the combined fault of everyone they sued. By its terms the new subsection reaches personal injury actions and does not mention wrongful death.
The comparison runs against the defendants actually named rather than an absolute halfway mark, so who gets sued can matter. The subsection is new and untested in the appellate courts, and how it works where several defendants share the blame is a question a lawyer has to work through on the facts. Many older pages still call New York a pure comparative negligence state, and for these claims that is out of date.
The same 2026 law made other changes to New York motor vehicle claims, including a narrower definition of serious injury, which is the threshold for recovering pain and suffering. It also placed a cap on non-economic damages in defined situations involving an at-fault driver. Those changes can matter as much as the fault rule, so we review all of them at the consultation.
This is why phone evidence carries more weight than it used to. Insurers routinely argue the injured driver was speeding, tailgating, or looking away. Blame shifted onto you used to just shave a percentage off the award. Now it can end the claim.
Contact Our Nassau County and Queens Distracted Driving Attorneys
Evidence of phone use does not wait. Carrier records do not last forever, and security video is often overwritten before anyone asks for it. If a distracted driver injured you or your family, contact our Garden City office for a free consultation. There is no attorney fee unless we recover, and Spanish-speaking staff are available. Where a crash proved fatal, we also handle the related wrongful death claim.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does a phone ticket prove the other driver caused the crash?
A citation is an accusation, not a finding. It gives us a documented time and place to anchor a records request. Proving a violation is one part of the case; we still have to prove it caused your injuries.
Can my attorney get the other driver’s phone records?
Once a case is filed, we can subpoena a wireless carrier for records, because New York allows disclosure from non-parties. Carriers often contest the scope, and federal privacy law limits what a private litigant can obtain from them, so we pursue the device, vehicle data, and video alongside the carrier request. Before a case is filed, that disclosure requires a court order instead.
How long do I have to file a distracted driving claim in New York?
Three years is the general rule for a personal injury action, and a wrongful death claim must be brought within two years of the death, though a related criminal case can extend that. Claims against a city, county, town, village, fire district, or school district run on a much shorter clock. A notice of claim within 90 days, and suit within one year and 90 days. Miss either, and the claim can be lost, so call early.
