Munley Law’s Pittsburgh texting while driving accident lawyers can help you take action if you’ve been injured by a distracted driver in western Pennsylvania. Texting behind the wheel is one of the most dangerous forms of distracted driving, dramatically increasing the risk of serious crashes. Even a momentary lack of attention on the road can have devastating repercussions for other motorists, pedestrians, and cyclists.
In Pittsburgh and throughout Allegheny County, texting-related accidents continue to cause life-changing injuries, from broken bones and spinal damage to traumatic brain injuries, not to mention the financial implications of such a crash. Understanding your legal rights after a texting while driving accident is the first step toward recovering compensation and holding the at-fault driver accountable.
Working with an experienced law firm like Munley Law Personal Injury Attorneys can make a significant difference in the outcome of your case. With almost 70 years of experience, our team knows how to investigate distracted-driving accidents, gather critical evidence, and negotiate aggressively with insurance companies. If you’ve been hurt, Munley Law’s car accident lawyers will shoulder the legal burdens while you recover from this traumatic incident.
Contact us for a free consultation today.
Call Us At 844-686-5397 How Common are Texting While Driving Accidents in Pittsburgh?
Texting behind the wheel makes you 23 times more likely to get into a crash. According to the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute, you are six times more likely to be in a motor vehicle crash while driving if you’re texting than if you were intoxicated. A 2025 Governors Highway Safety Association also found that people who regularly use their mobile phones while driving are 240% more likely to have an accident. Still, people all over the city of Pittsburgh use their phones while driving every day, and innocent people get hurt.
According to PennDot data, there were 9,687 distracted driving accidents in Pennsylvania, claiming the lives of 43 people. Allegheny County had the second-highest number of fatal car crashes in the state, accounting for 6.5% of the 1,127 for that year.
How Texting While Driving Affects Reaction Time
Texting while driving affects all three types of attention: visual, manual, and cognitive. This means a driver is not only looking away from the road but also removing their hands from the wheel and focusing their mind elsewhere.
At highway speeds, taking your eyes off the road for just five seconds is equivalent to driving the length of a football field blind. This delay drastically reduces reaction time, making it far more likely that a driver will fail to brake, swerve, or avoid a collision.
Because of this, texting drivers often cause rear-end crashes, intersection accidents, and pedestrian injuries—many of which could have been prevented with full attention on the road.
Pennsylvania Laws on Texting While Driving
Pennsylvania has specific laws aimed at reducing distracted driving, but many drivers still ignore them. Under state law, it is illegal for drivers to use a hand-held mobile device to send, read, or write messages while operating a vehicle. This is known as Paul Miller’s law, and came into effect on June 5, 2025.
This law applies when a vehicle is in motion or temporarily stopped in traffic. Violations are considered a primary offense, meaning a driver can be pulled over solely for texting behind the wheel. While the fine may seem minor, the legal consequences can be significant if texting leads to an accident that causes injury.
For injured victims, proving a violation of this law can help establish negligence and strengthen a personal injury claim.
Experienced Texting While Driving Accident Lawyers in Pittsburgh
As the injured victim, you have the right to seek compensation for your losses with the help of a car accident attorney. Not all law firms are equally capable or qualified to help you. Choosing a Pittsburgh texting and driving accident lawyer with experience winning cases like yours is essential. Munley Law Personal Injury Attorneys have been helping people throughout Pennsylvania since 1959. We are board-certified trial lawyers with extensive resources and a long track record of winning maximum compensation for injured victims.
It is essential that you do not give a statement to the other driver’s insurance company or accept an offer of settlement. Insurance companies frequently offer settlement amounts far below what claimants receive with the help of a lawyer. If you accept a settlement, you may be barred from seeking additional compensation. Allowing an attorney to represent you and negotiate with the insurance company is the best way to protect yourself and achieve the best possible outcome in your claim.
How Our Pittsburgh Texting While Driving Lawyer Builds Your Case
Building a strong distracted driving case requires more than proving an accident occurred—it requires showing exactly how and why it happened.
At Munley Law, our attorneys will:
- Obtain and analyze cell phone records
- Review police reports and citations
- Collect video footage from traffic or nearby businesses
- Interview witnesses
- Work with accident reconstruction experts
- Identify patterns of distracted behavior leading up to the crash
This comprehensive approach helps establish liability and positions your claim for maximum compensation.
What Damages Can You Claim in a Pittsburgh Texting and Driving Accident Case?
The purpose of a Pittsburgh texting and driving accident lawsuit is to make you, the victim, whole again and to hold the at-fault party accountable for their negligent actions. A car crash caused by texting and driving can cause serious damage. Common injuries in a texting while driving accident include broken bones, neck and back injuries, scarring, and traumatic brain injuries, which can take months to heal fully. You may have to miss time from work or be prevented from doing your job for an extended period.
By filing a lawsuit in court, you will not only see that justice is done, but you can also demand compensation for your losses, also called damages. As the plaintiff in a personal injury case, you can seek economic and non-economic damages.
Economic damages include out-of-pocket expenses and other financial repercussions such as hospital bills, follow-up and future treatment, surgeries, medications, adaptive equipment, lost wages, lost earning power, and more.
Non-economic damages include the intangible harm you’ve suffered as a result of the texting and driving crash, such as mental anguish, emotional distress, diminished quality of life, and pain and suffering.
Proving Negligence in a Texting While Driving Case
Duty of Care: The plaintiff (injured party) must establish that the defendant owed them a legal duty of care. This duty of care varies depending on the circumstances and the relationship between the parties. For example, drivers must operate their vehicles safely and obey traffic laws. This includes abiding by the distracted driving laws in Pennsylvania and refraining from texting while driving.
Breach of Duty: The plaintiff must demonstrate that the defendant breached their duty of care. This means the defendant failed to act reasonably or fulfill their duty of care. You must show that the defendant’s actions or omissions fell below the expected standard of care.
Causation: The plaintiff must establish a causal connection between the defendant’s breach of duty and the injuries suffered. There are two types of causation to develop:
- Cause in fact (actual cause): The plaintiff must prove that “but for” the defendant’s breach of duty, the injury would not have occurred. In other words, the defendant’s actions were a direct cause of the injury.
- Proximate cause (legal cause): The plaintiff must show that the injuries were a reasonably foreseeable consequence of the defendant’s breach. The harm suffered must be within the scope of the risks that the defendant’s actions created.
Damages: The plaintiff must demonstrate that they suffered actual damages due to the defendant’s breach of duty. Damages can include medical expenses, lost wages, pain and suffering, emotional distress, and other losses resulting from the injury.
Pittsburgh Texting and Driving Accident FAQs
How Common is Texting and Driving in Pittsburgh?
Allegheny County has one of the highest rates of distracted driving in all of Pennsylvania. Allegheny County has had the highest number of car crashes caused by using handheld devices of any county in the state from 2018 to 2022. And Allegheny County had the second-highest percentage of distracted driving citations in the state, at 8% of the statewide total.
Is It Illegal to Text and Drive in Pittsburgh?
Texting while driving is a summary offense in Pennsylvania. State law prohibits drivers from using interactive wireless communication devices to read, write, or send messages, including texts and emails, while driving. The penalty for violating this law is a fine of $50.00. Realistically, this penalty is nothing compared to the deadly and destructive consequences that too often result from distracted driving. Commercial drivers are prohibited from using a handheld device while driving, including talking on the phone.
How Long Does a Texting While Driving Case Take to Settle?
Most cases take several months to over a year, depending on the severity of injuries and whether the case goes to trial. Complex cases involving serious injuries or disputed liability typically take longer.
Can I Still Recover Compensation If I Was Partially at Fault?
Yes. Pennsylvania follows a modified comparative negligence rule, meaning you can recover damages as long as you are less than 51% at fault. Your compensation will be reduced based on your percentage of fault.
What If the Driver Denies They Were Texting?
Even if the driver denies it, evidence such as phone records, witness statements, and crash analysis can prove distracted driving. An experienced attorney knows how to uncover this critical evidence.
Are Employers Liable If the Driver Was Working at the Time?
In some cases, yes. If the driver was working or using their phone for job-related tasks, their employer may be held liable under vicarious liability laws.
What Makes Texting While Driving Cases Different From Other Accidents?
These cases often involve additional layers of evidence, such as phone records and digital data. Proving distraction can significantly strengthen your claim and may increase the likelihood of a favorable outcome.
Contact a Pittsburgh Texting While Driving Accident Lawyer at Munley Law
If you or someone you love has been injured by a driver who was texting while driving, our award-winning Pittsburgh attorneys are here to help.
Schedule your free consultation with Munley Law today.
Caroline Munley
Caroline Munley, Managing Partner of Munley Law, stands among Pennsylvania’s most respected auto accident attorneys. Her dedication to accident victims has earned her recognition from Best Lawyers (2018), and the National Trial Lawyers Association has twice honored her, once as a Top 100 Trial Lawyer and second as a Top 25 Women Trial Lawyer in Pennsylvania. Caroline has helped in winning numerous multi-million dollar settlements for auto accident victims, such as a $17.5 million jury verdict for a teen death caused by a car accident, and another $4.4 million settlement reached for a different car accident case. Caroline has also written pieces such as “Drugged Driving Poses Greater Highway Risk” in The Scranton Times-Tribune to advocate for auto safety.
