Gathering and Preserving Evidence in an 18-Wheeler Accident

 Posted on December 13, 2022 in Personal Injury

Auto accidents involving 18-wheelers often lead to catastrophic injuries and substantial financial loss. Individuals who are injured in commercial truck accidents may be able to recover financial compensation for their losses, but building a successful claim is not easy. The trucking company and its insurer will do everything possible to avoid a large payout. Gathering and preserving supportive evidence is crucial to developing a robust case for compensation.

Demonstrating Negligence, Liability, Causation, and Damages

The main elements of a truck accident claim include duty, breach of duty, causation, and damages. Truck drivers have a duty to follow FMCSA regulations and traffic laws and to drive in a safe, responsible manner. Similarly, trucking companies have a duty to follow the law, properly vet employees, and maintain safe vehicles. In order to prove negligence, a truck accident attorney must establish that the truck driver or company breached their duty of care and that breach caused the accident and resulting injuries.

Damages are the losses the injured party suffered as a result of the crash. Medical expenses, lost income and reduced earning capacity, pain and suffering, and property damage are common types of damages. A successful claim requires sufficient evidence to show that the truck driver or company is liable for those damages.

Gathering and Preserving Evidence

There are many forms of evidence that can be gathered after an 18-wheeler crash, including trucking logs, cellphone records, photographs or videos of the vehicles involved, skid marks on the road, physical damage to buildings or property near the scene, and event data recorder (EDR) data. Evidence of damages often includes medical records and statements from medical professionals about the nature of the injuries, vehicle repair estimates, and receipts for out-of-pocket losses.

Evidence in a truck accident injury claim must be properly preserved, so it is not destroyed or tampered with. Personal injury attorneys often use spoilation letters to ensure that all relevant evidence is preserved. A spoilation letter informs the responsible party and its insurer of their legal obligation to preserve evidence until a settlement is reached or a verdict is rendered. This prevents a trucking company from erasing vital EDR data, making repairs to trucks, deleting computer records, or otherwise tampering with evidence.

Truck accident claims can be complex and require extensive investigation, so it is important to speak with an experienced truck accident attorney as soon as possible after the crash.

Contact our Austin, Texas Commercial Truck Crash Lawyer

If you or a loved one were involved in a serious truck accident, contact our Midland personal injury attorneys for help building a powerful claim. Call Morales Law Office, Attorneys at Law, PLLC. at 512-474-2222 for a free consultation.

Source:

https://www.nhtsa.gov/research-data/event-data-recorder