Big. Distracted driving–the failure of a motorist to keep hands, eyes, and mind all on the road–claims 3,000 or more lives and injures hundreds of thousands of people every year, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Sending a text at 55 mph is like driving the length of a football field with your eyes closed, the CDC says.

No. Though texting while driving is against the law in New York State, not every form of distracted driving is a crime. And, even if the driver who causes a crash in which you’re hurt is texting, you would need to show in a lawsuit that distracted driving was a factor in the crash. That can be hard; compared to drunk driving, distracted driving often is difficult to prove.

Because New York is a no-fault state, your own insurance carrier pays your medical bills, even if somebody else causes the accident. No-fault coverage, which is mandatory, pays for injury-related expenses incurred by anyone hurt in your vehicle or any pedestrian hurt by it.

If your injuries qualify as serious under New York law and the expenses you incur because of them exceed your no-fault coverage, you can go beyond filing an insurance claim and sue the driver who hurt you to recoup the difference.

State law defines a serious injury as one that prevents a person from living normally for at least three of the first six months after an accident. That’s the 90/180 rule.

Through your no-fault coverage, you could receive as much as $2,000 monthly for accident-related medical and rehabilitation expenses and up to $25 daily for non-medical expenses such as household help for your claim.

The clock starts ticking on impact. You have 90 days to file a personal-injury claim and three years to file a personal-injury lawsuit.

An attorney can save you from yourself by making sure you do as your doctor says and don’t sign anything from the insurance company and can save you from others by protecting your rights and advocating for you to receive maximum compensation.

Yes–if the non-distracted driver was driving recklessly and the other driver’s distraction wasn’t a factor in the collision or couldn’t be proved as such.

If you accept an insurance company’s settlement offer before reviewing your options with an attorney, you might receive less than you deserve. The lawyers at the Law Offices of William Mattar are not afraid to stand up to the big insurance companies.