Understanding the Value of Obtaining and Preserving Evidence in Your Commercial Truck Accident Case

 Posted on May 30, 2023 in Truck Accident

Victims of commercial truck accidents may be entitled to financial compensation for their damages. However, building a successful claim against a truck company or other at-fault party is complex. The strength of the personal injury claim or lawsuit largely depends on the strength of the evidence supporting the claim. Gathering, preserving, and effectively utilizing compelling evidence is essential to success.

Using Evidence to Develop a Robust Truck Wreck Injury Claim

To recover financial compensation for medical bills, lost income, pain and suffering, and other damages caused by a truck wreck, several elements must be proven. First, the injured party must prove that the truck driver, truck company, or other at-fault party violated its duty of care by acting negligently. Speeding, texting while driving, failure to properly maintain the commercial vehicle, and negligent loading and securement of cargo are just some of the ways a truck driver or truck company may breach its duty of care.

Just some forms of evidence that the Burress Injury Law team typically acquires to prove negligence include:

• Eyewitness statements
• Information from the truck’s event data recorder
• Photographs of the accident scene
• Video footage of the accident from dash cameras or traffic cameras
• Information from the police report
• Cell phone records
• Truck company employment records 
• Log books for the trucking company’s driver
• Maintenance records for the commercial vehicle and trailer at issue. 
• Expert testimony from accident reconstruction specialists, engineers, or other professionals

The injured party will also need to demonstrate the causal relationship between the at-fault party’s actions and his or her injuries and damages. Medical bills, statements from medical professionals, vehicle repair estimates, pay stubs and opinions from crash reconstruction, biomechanics and kinematic experts, and medical doctors are examples of evidence that may demonstrate the extent of an injured person’s financial losses in a commercial truck accident case.

Preservation of Evidence is Crucial

An essential aspect of gathering evidence to support a truck accident injury claim is ensuring the evidence is preserved correctly. For example, the truck’s event data recorder (EDR) contains crucial information about speed, acceleration, brake application, steering, and other vehicle data immediately prior to and during a crash. EDR information can be used to determine whether a truck driver’s actions caused or contributed to a crash. However, this valuable data may be lost if it is not properly preserved soon after the accident. The same importance goes for quickly preserving evidence at the crash scene such as brake marks, gouges and pieces of the crashed vehicles.

A spoliation letter may be used to prevent evidence such as EDR, infotainment software,  electronic logbook information and incident reports from being accidentally or intentionally destroyed during a truck accident injury case. Spoliation letters notify a truck company or other parties of the impending claim against them and instruct the parties to preserve critical evidence that may be used in the case. If the trucking company fails to preserve the evidence, they can receive harmful admonishments by the trial court.  

Contact our McKinney Truck Accident Lawyers

If you or a loved one were injured in a crash involving a commercial truck, our Collin County personal injury attorneys at Burress Injury Law can help you bring a strong, evidence-backed claim against the liable party(s). Call 214-726-0016 to set up your free initial consultation today.

Source:

https://statutes.capitol.texas.gov/Docs/SDocs/CIVILPRACTICEANDREMEDIESCODE.pdf