What Is Texting and Driving?

Also known as texting while driving, texting and driving involves writing, sending, or reading text messages on a cell phone while driving. It is a form of distracted driving, significantly increasing the chances that a driver will be involved in a car crash. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, 3,142 people were killed in motor vehicle crashes involving distracted drivers in 2020. A recent University of Utah study found texting and driving is at least as dangerous as driving under the influence. In that study, participants used a driving simulator four times: once using a handheld mobile phone, once undistracted, once while intoxicated, and once using a hands-free cell phone. The study showed that participants were equally impaired when they drove under the influence as they were when they drove and used a cell phone. There was no major difference between using hand-held and hands-free cell phones.

What are the Examples of Texting and Driving Accidents?

Texting and driving can lead to various car accidents, including the following: Rollovers : These are crashes in which vehicles tip onto their roofs or sides. They have a high chance of causing fatalities . Head-on collisions : Also called frontal collisions, these accidents happen when the front ends of two vehicles collide. Rear-end collisions : These happen when the front of a vehicle collides with another vehicle’s rear end. They occur when drivers follow too closely or fail to pay attention to the road. Sideswipe accidents: These happen when two or more vehicles are moving parallel to one another, and one car collides with another. They often occur when drivers forget to turn their heads to look for blind spots. Merging accidents : These occur when drivers collide with other cars while merging into traffic. Such accidents occur when motorists forget to check their blind spots, fail to match the speed of other drivers, or drive recklessly.

What are the Missouri Texting and Driving Laws?

In Missouri, accidents caused by distracted driving have increased by 30 percent since 2014. Despite this alarming statistic, Missouri remains one of the two states that do not make texting and driving illegal for all people. Per Missouri Revisor of Statutes Section 304.820, texting and driving is only illegal for commercial drivers and drivers 21 or younger. Driving while speaking on a hand-held mobile phone is legal for drivers of all ages. Although Missouri drivers can text and drive without facing legal consequences, Brown & Crouppen’s St. Louis, Missouri lawyers can hold negligent drivers accountable for St. Louis, Missouri , car accident injuries. We can gather evidence to prove that the other driver was texting while driving or engaging in another distraction when the accident occurred. This is generally enough to establish the driver’s fault or legal responsibility.

What are the Illinois Texting and Driving Laws?

Illinois’ texting and driving laws are much stricter than Missouri’s. As per 625 Illinois Compiled Statutes 5/12-610.2, drivers are prohibited from using electronic communication devices while driving. This includes talking and texting on the phone. However, there are exceptions for making emergency calls, talking on the phone through Bluetooth, using GPS devices, and using hands-free devices. Illinois also follows the doctrine of negligence per se . Under this principle, if a driver receives a ticket for texting and driving after causing an accident that injures you, that driver is automatically responsible for your injuries.

What are the Compensation for Texting and Driving Accidents?

Missouri follows a pure comparative negligence system, meaning you can receive compensation even if you are partially responsible for your accident. This means you can recover compensation even if you were 99 percent responsible for the auto crash. The damages you can recover are reduced in proportion to your share of the fault. On the other hand, Illinois follows a modified comparative negligence scheme, which means you can only recover damages if you are less than 50 percent responsible for the accident. You may receive the following types of compensation for texting and driving accidents in Missouri and Illinois: Economic damages: These include compensation for objectively verifiable losses such as past and future medical fees, loss of property, loss of past and future earnings, costs of replacement and repair, and loss of business opportunities or employment. Non-economic damages: These compensate you for subjective, non-monetary losses such as emotional distress, pain and suffering, loss of consortium, loss of companionship, and loss of enjoyment of life. Punitive or exemplary damages: These are awarded to punish negligent drivers for outrageous conduct or to deter others from repeating the misconduct in the future.

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St. Louis Texting and Driving Accident Lawyer

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This page has been written, edited, and reviewed by a team of legal writers following our comprehensive editorial guidelines. This page was approved by Founding Partner, Terry Crouppen who has more than 40 years of legal experience as a personal injury attorney. Our last modified date shows when this page was last reviewed.

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Texting and driving is incredibly dangerous and puts everyone on the road at risk. This type of reckless driving can lead to serious automobile accidents, often causing life-altering injuries and even death. If you or a loved one were hurt in a texting and driving crash, our skilled legal team can help you obtain maximum compensation.

Our St. Louis texting and driving accident lawyers can advise you about your rights, gather evidence, conduct legal research, negotiate with the opposition, and represent you in court to obtain the justice and compensation you deserve. We work on a contingency fee basis, meaning there’s no upfront cost to you—we only get paid if you get paid. Call (800) 536-4357 or reach out online to schedule a free consultation.

Table of Contents

Why Hire an Attorney for a Texting and Driving Accident?
How Brown & Crouppen Can Help
Our Car Accident Case Results Speak For Themselves
Determining Liability in a Texting & Driving Accident
Examples of Texting and Driving Accidents
Missouri Texting and Driving Laws 6
Compensation for Texting and Driving Accidents
FAQs About Texting and Driving Accidents in Missouri

Why Hire an Attorney for a Texting and Driving Accident?

Our trusted St. Louis car accident attorneys can help you with your texting and driving accident in many ways. Among other things, we will:

Give you care and support – Our compassionate personal injury lawyers will provide you with the assistance you need. In addition to providing legal services, we will connect you to knowledgeable experts and resources, including health professionals and therapists.
Prove negligence – Our lawyers will use their investigative skills to prove that the other driver was distracted by their phone when they caused your crash. They may locate eyewitnesses, look at the driver’s social media accounts to see if they posted shortly before the collision, obtain security camera footage, and subpoena the driver’s mobile phone records.
Handle all legal research, communication, and documentation – Our lawyers will take care of these steps so you can focus on recovering and getting your life back together. They will also address all of your legal questions and concerns.
Determine maximum compensation for your losses – Our car accident attorneys will consider many factors to calculate your case’s full value, including future medical expenses, pain and suffering, and future loss of income. From gathering medical records to working with expert witnesses, they will assemble strong evidence of the accident’s impact on your life.
Negotiate a fair settlement with insurance providers – Insurance providers often try to delay, deny, or underpay benefits. Your attorney can use their understanding of insurance policies and the law to secure fair compensation. Their job is to deal with the insurance companies on your behalf and protect you from their attempts to minimize your claim.
Represent you at trial – If they cannot reach a fair settlement with the opposition, your personal injury lawyer can take your case to trial. Your lawyer will use their courtroom experience and knowledge to fight tooth and nail for your rights.

How Brown & Crouppen Can Help

At Brown & Crouppen, we serve our community by providing excellent legal services to accident victims in their hour of need. If you were injured by a driver who was texting while driving, our St. Louis texting and driving accident lawyers are standing by to help you seek the justice and financial compensation you deserve.

Since 1979, our compassionate and tenacious personal injury attorneys have helped numerous clients throughout Missouri and beyond recover over $1 billion in settlement and verdicts. With over 50 attorneys and 10 locations throughout the Midwest, including our law office in St. Louis, our firm has the resources and expertise to get top results for our clients.

Our Car Accident Case Results Speak For Themselves

At Brown & Crouppen, we have a proven track record of success in St. Louis car accident injury cases, many of which involved at-fault drivers texting behind the wheel. Some of our noteworthy St. Louis car accident case results include:

$750,000 for a rear-end accident
$400,000 for a rear-end accident
$100,000 for a rear-end car accident
$100,000 for a car accident victim who needed knee surgery
$100,000 for a car accident victim who needed back surgery

Determining Liability in a Texting & Driving Accident

Drivers owe a duty to use reasonable care to avoid harming others on the road. Violating this duty by texting while driving can lead to liability for negligence. However, proving that texting caused the accident can be challenging.

It’s not always clear whether the other driver was texting when the accident occurred. Further, if there is evidence of texting, you will still need to show that the texting and driving caused the accident.

This is where having an experienced attorney on your side is beneficial. Our award-winning personal injury law firm is ready to dig deep. We will leave no stone unturned in search of evidence to prove the other driver was indeed texting while driving and that this behavior directly caused your accident and injuries. Important evidence may include:

Text message timestamps that match driving times
Phone records showing outgoing texts during driving periods
Statements from witnesses who saw the texting and driving
Photos or videos of the driver holding and using a phone
Accident reconstructions showing distraction-related patterns
Forensic analysis of phone activity synced with driving behavior

Examples of Texting and Driving Accidents

Texting and driving can lead to various kinds of car accidents, including:

Rollovers – These are crashes in which vehicles roll onto their roofs or sides. They have a high chance of causing serious injuries and fatalities. Texting while driving can take a driver’s eyes off the road long enough for their vehicle to veer off course, potentially causing its tires to hit a curb, lose traction, or otherwise cause a rollover.
Head-on collisions – Also called frontal collisions, these accidents happen when the front ends of two vehicles collide. A driver distracted by texting can easily drift into oncoming traffic, causing a head-on collision with another vehicle.
Rear-end collisions – These accidents happen when the front of a vehicle collides with another vehicle from behind. They can occur when drivers follow too closely or fail to pay attention to the road, often due to texting and other distractions.
Sideswipe accidents – These collisions happen when two or more vehicles collide as they move parallel to one another. They often occur when drivers forget to look for blind spots. They may also occur when distracted drivers take their eyes off the road to text and drift into an adjacent lane.
Merging accidents – These occur when drivers collide with other cars while moving into another lane of traffic. Texting behind the wheel can cause drivers to miss important cues from other vehicles, leading to merging accidents.

Missouri Texting and Driving Laws

Until recently, Missouri was one of the two states that did not make texting and driving illegal for everyone. Fortunately, the Siddens Bening Hands Free Law took effect on August 28, 2023, and changed the landscape of texting and driving laws in Missouri.

Prior to the Siddens Bening Hands Free Law, texting and driving was only illegal for commercial drivers and drivers 21 or younger. Otherwise, driving while speaking on a hand-held mobile phone was legal for drivers of all ages. It is now illegal for Missouri drivers to physically hold a cell phone with any part of their body while operating a vehicle. This includes manually typing, writing, sending, or reading text-based messages.

Now that texting and driving is illegal in Missouri, victims of texting and driving accidents have an even stronger basis for showing liability. Our St. Louis texting and driving accident lawyers can hold distracted drivers accountable for violating the law.

Compensation for Texting and Driving Accidents

Missouri follows a pure comparative negligence system, meaning you can receive compensation even if you were 99 percent responsible for the crash. The damages you can recover will simply be reduced in proportion to your share of the fault. You may receive the following types of compensation for texting and driving accidents in Missouri:

Economic damages – These include compensation for objectively verifiable losses, such as past and future medical fees, loss of property, loss of past and future earnings, costs of vehicle replacement and repair, and loss of business opportunities or employment.
Non-economic damages – These compensate you for subjective, non-monetary losses such as emotional distress, pain and suffering, loss of consortium, loss of companionship, and loss of enjoyment of life.
Punitive or exemplary damages – These are awarded to punish negligent drivers for outrageous conduct and to deter others from repeating the misconduct in the future.

“They are my lawyer from the car accident that I was in a year ago. They are very caring about their clients. Making sure how I’m doing since the accident.”

Holly H.

“I used this firm for my car accident and they were amazing! They truly care about their clients and making sure everyone who contacts them is helped. They walked me through every step of the process and made sure my questions were answered at every turn. Highly, highly recommended!”

Nicole C.

“My lawyer Mark and his team were great! They helped me understand and navigate through both my car accident and workers comp case. I would highly recommend them to anyone. My team was available to answer my emails and phone calls.”

Mia J.

FAQs About Texting and Driving Accidents in Missouri

It’s normal to have questions after a texting and driving accident. Here are our team’s answers to some frequently asked questions about these types of accidents and their legal consequences in Missouri.

Is There a Fine for Texting and Driving in St. Louis?

Missouri law enforcement currently only issues warnings for texting and driving offenses. Starting in 2025, texting and driving citations will include a fine of $150 for the first violation and up to $500 for subsequent offenses.

Is Missouri a No-Fault State?

No, Missouri is not a “no-fault” state. Instead, Missouri law requires drivers at fault for accidents to pay damages to the injured parties.

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