In today’s day and age, it would seem logical that civil litigants involved in motor vehicle accident (MVA) cases should be able to obtain the cell phone records of an opposing driver in order to help prove fault. Yet, surprisingly, it is very difficult to obtain such records, and the recent Supreme Court decision in Riley v. California1 does not make it any easier.
For personal injury attorneys dealing with MVA cases in particular, obtaining the cell phone records of both the defendant and plaintiff drivers may prove vital to an argument that the defendant was negligent due to distracted driving or that the plaintiff is comparatively at fault due to his own distracted driving. It is also conceivable that cell phone records could prove vital in personal injury actions brought by pedestrians claiming a driver was distracted, or as a defense by an employer claiming a worker was distracted and comparatively at fault in the worker’s personal injury action for injuries sustained on the job.
