Chicago Distracted Driving Accident Lawyer
Approximately 3% of Illinois car accidents involve distracted driving. In 2024, Chicago alone saw 867 crashes that were caused by drivers who were using their cellphones, eating and drinking behind the wheel, or otherwise distracted. When drivers take their attention away from the task of operating a vehicle, innocent people suffer severe injuries—and sometimes they die.
Despite these harrowing facts, Chicago drivers continue to allow distractions to jeopardize the safety of others.
Even worse, their insurance companies do everything they can to avoid paying for victims’ losses.
At Lloyd Miller Law Group, our lawyers hold distracted drivers accountable. We don’t accept excuses. We investigate what happened, gather the evidence, and demand full compensation for our clients. If the other side won’t offer a fair settlement, we take the fight to court.
We have over 75 years of collective experience protecting the rights of injured victims. Let us help you get maximum compensation for your losses.
Call our distracted driving accident lawyers now at 773-838-8100 to schedule your free consultation.
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Why Your Distracted Driving Case Requires Aggressive Legal Representation
Distracted drivers rarely admit what they were doing, and insurance companies will often help them cover up their actions. Unless someone pushes for real answers, the truth often disappears. Proving that someone was distracted takes more than suspicion—it takes evidence, pressure, and legal leverage.
At Lloyd Miller Law Group, we treat distracted driving cases like trial cases from day one.
- We demand phone and text records through subpoenas
- Our team obtains dashcam and traffic camera footage
- Our attorneys analyze vehicle infotainment and GPS data
- We interview witnesses and first responders
- Our law firm works with accident reconstruction experts
This aggressive approach gets results. It puts pressure on insurers to settle fairly, and it puts us in a strong position to take the case to court if they don’t.
Why Choose Lloyd Miller Law Group?
You only get one shot at compensation after a car accident. You need a lawyer who knows how to go after distracted drivers and the insurance companies who are protecting them.
At Lloyd Miller Law Group:
- We don’t push our clients to accept low settlements just to close a file.
- We dig deep into the facts and don’t stop until we get answers.
- We prepare every case like it’s going to trial.
- We’ve recovered significant compensation for Chicagoans hurt by distracted drivers.
Our firm is committed to fighting for the injured—not just to recover damages, but to hold reckless drivers fully accountable for their choices.
Distracted Driving Is a Choice—And It’s Costing Lives
Distracted driving isn’t just careless. It’s reckless. Whether a driver is checking a text, scrolling social media, applying makeup, or fiddling with their GPS, they’re making a choice that endangers everyone on the road.
In Illinois, it’s illegal to text or use a handheld cellphone while driving. Unfortunately, that hasn’t stopped distracted drivers from causing thousands of preventable accidents. Driving while distracted often results in:
- Rear-end collisions
- Side-impact crashes at intersections
- Highway pileups
- Pedestrian and cyclist injuries and deaths
When a distracted driver injures you, they need to be held accountable—not just by police, but in civil court. Our injury attorneys know how to uncover distractions that contribute to accidents, even when drivers deny any wrongdoing. We pull phone records, dashcam footage, surveillance videos, and eyewitness accounts to prove what really happened.
Kurt D. Lloyd is a plaintiff’s trial lawyer who focuses on medical malpractice and other catastrophic injury cases. He lives in Chicago and represents injured clients throughout Illinois. He is also the founder of Lloyd Miller Law, Ltd.
Illinois Registration Status: Active
Bar Admissions: Illinois State Bar
We Represent People Injured by All Types of Distracted Driving
Distracted driving takes many forms, and it’s not always obvious. Our accident attorneys how to identify and expose the type of distraction that caused your crash, and we use that information to help you recover full compensation. Types of distractions we’ll look for include, but are not limited to:
Cell Phone Use
Texting, scrolling, or talking on the phone while driving is one of the most dangerous and common forms of distracted driving. Even hands-free conversations can cause drivers to miss critical visual cues. Cellphone use while driving increases the risk of getting into an accident by 400%. People who are texting and driving are 23 times more likely to get into a car accident.
Eating and Drinking
Consuming food and beverages while driving isn’t illegal, but it’s dangerous. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), people are 1.57 times more likely to be in a crash when eating and driving. Still, over 50% of drivers continue to eat while operating their motor vehicles.
GPS and In-Car Screens
Touchscreens and navigation systems can make the world more accessible for drivers, but convenience comes at a cost. Studies show that using GPS and in-car screens can divert a driver’s focus from the road for anywhere between 10 and 40 seconds. At 68 mph, a motor vehicle might have traveled between 1,000 and 4,500 feet while the driver was typing an address into GPS, or managing their playlist.
Daydreaming and Inattention
Not all distractions are physical. Mental distractions, like zoning out, getting lost in thought, or even talking to passengers, can slow reaction times and lead to dangerous mistakes. This is especially true for young, inexperienced drivers. As such, Illinois and other states limit the number of passengers young drivers can have in their cars.
Filing a Claim for Distracted Driving Accident Injuries
If you were injured in a distracted driving accident, filing a personal injury claim can help you receive the compensation you need to pay for your medical care, make up lost wages, and more. Taking legal accident right away is important, however. Generally, you’re going to have just two years to file a lawsuit. If you wait longer than that to contact an attorney, you probably won’t be able to recover compensation through the courts.
If you’re on the fence about whether to sue someone for your injuries, consider this:
- Serious injuries can lead to overwhelming medical bills—especially if you need surgery, rehabilitation, or long-term care.
- If you suffered spinal cord injuries, traumatic brain injuries, or other serious harm, you might need in-home nursing care and/or adaptive equipment.
- Serious car accident injuries can interfere with your ability to support yourself and your family.
- Your health insurance is not going to cover all the losses you’ve endured.
Don’t let the distracted driver who caused your accident walk away without being held accountable. It costs nothing to get advice from our attorneys. We offer free case evaluations, and we don’t charge legal fees unless we win your case.
Call Lloyd Miller Law Group now at 773-838-8100 to schedule your free consultation.
Compensation in Distracted Driving Injury Cases
Victims of distracted driving accidents often face serious injuries, expensive medical care, and long-term financial hardship. If a distracted driver caused your crash, you may be entitled to recover compensation through a personal injury claim or lawsuit. This compensation is meant to cover the full extent of your losses, including future costs and the lasting impact the accident has had on your life.
What Can You Recover After a Distracted Driving Accident?
Compensation in a distracted driving injury case typically falls into two categories: economic damages and non-economic damages. In rare cases, punitive damages may also be available.
Economic damages are the tangible financial losses you’ve suffered as a result of the crash. These can include:
- Medical expenses – including emergency care, hospital stays, surgeries, follow-up appointments, prescription medications, physical therapy, and future treatment needs.
- Lost wages – if your injuries prevent you from working during recovery.
- Loss of earning capacity – if you suffer long-term or permanent injuries that reduce your ability to earn income in the future.
- Out-of-pocket expenses – such as transportation to medical appointments, hiring home care services, or modifying your home to accommodate a disability.
- Property damage – including repair or replacement of your vehicle and any personal items damaged in the crash.
Non-economic damages refer to the more personal, less quantifiable harm you’ve experienced due to the accident. These can include:
- Pain and suffering – for the physical pain and discomfort caused by your injuries.
- Emotional distress – including anxiety, depression, or PTSD resulting from the crash.
- Loss of enjoyment of life – if your injuries prevent you from participating in activities you once enjoyed.
- Loss of consortium – for the impact your injuries have on your relationship with a spouse or partner.
In cases where the distracted driver’s behavior was especially reckless—such as texting while driving at high speeds or repeatedly driving while distracted—punitive damages may be awarded. These damages are not tied to your actual losses; instead, they are meant to punish the at-fault driver and discourage similar behavior in the future.
Proving Your Right to Compensation
To recover compensation in a distracted driving case, your attorney will need to show that the other driver was negligent and that their distraction directly caused your injuries. Although this might seem straightforward, a lot goes into proving negligence in an accident claim. Understanding the legal elements that must be established can help clarify what evidence is needed and how your case will be built.
The four key elements of negligence in a distracted driving accident case include:
1. Duty of Care
All drivers have a legal obligation to operate their vehicles in a safe and responsible manner. This includes following traffic laws, remaining focused on the road, and avoiding actions that could put others in danger. Establishing this duty is typically straightforward in motor vehicle accident cases.
2. Breach of Duty
Your attorney must show that the other driver breached their duty of care by engaging in a distracting behavior. This might include texting, using GPS, eating, reaching for something, or even talking to passengers instead of watching the road. Evidence such as phone records, video footage, or eyewitness accounts can be key here.
3. Causation
Next, there must be a clear link between the driver’s distraction and the accident that caused your injuries. It’s not enough to prove that the driver was distracted; it has to be shown that the distraction was the direct cause of the crash. For example, if a driver ran a red light while reading a text, and that led to a collision, causation can likely be established.
4. Damages
Finally, you must show that you suffered actual damages because of the accident. This may include medical bills, lost wages, pain and suffering, and long-term care needs. Your attorney will use medical records, expert testimony, employment documentation, and other evidence to show the extent of your financial and physical losses.
Call 773-838-8100 to find out how much your case may be worth.
Common Injuries in Distracted Driving Crashes
Distracted driving collisions cause a wide range of injuries to victims. Speed and the types of vehicles involved generally play a role in injury severity. The cases we handle often involve:
- Traumatic brain injuries (TBI)
- Spinal cord injuries and paralysis
- Broken bones and orthopedic damage
- Internal bleeding and organ trauma
- Whiplash and other soft tissue injuries
- Psychological trauma such as PTSD
When you hire our attorneys, we’ll work closely with your medical providers, specialists, and care planners to understand how your injuries impact your life, your recovery path, and your long-term prognosis, and we build that into your claim for damages.
Talk to Our Distracted Driving Accident Lawyers Today
If you were hurt in a distracted driving crash, don’t wait to get started with your claim. Evidence disappears. Memories fade. And the insurance company is already building its defense. The sooner you contact a distracted driving accident lawyer, the sooner we can begin protecting your rights, preserving crucial evidence, and helping you recover maximum compensation.
Call Lloyd Miller Law Group at 773-838-8100.