Did You Preserve These Time-Sensitive Evidence After a Trucking Accident?
In the aftermath of a deadly trucking accident, there are several crucial steps that you need to adopt to protect yourself. If you wish to recover fair compensation for your injuries and damage, preserving evidence after a trucking accident is vital. Failing to obtain them could cause your claim to get delayed, and you may lose the opportunity of claiming compensation at all.
Our veteran trucking accident attorneys in Monroe at the Law Offices of L. Clayton Burgess lists time-sensitive evidence after a trucking collision for you to identify and preserve:
- Electronic logging device:
Driver fatigue is one of the common causes of trucking accidents and is undoubtedly one of the most severe issues in the trucking industry. For enhanced safety, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) mandates that all commercial truckers make use of an electronic logging device. This device can safeguard all the crucial data that led to the crash. However, it’s mandatory to get the evidence off the electronic logging device promptly. With time, chances are high that the trucking company may destroy the data to protect themselves against liability. It’s possible that the trucking driver was violating regulations when the collision occurred.
- Surveillance videos:
Based on when and where the collision occurred, nearby businesses may have surveillance videos that captured how the crash occurred. After the crash, if you don’t get in touch with the nearby businesses, the videos may get erased forever, and these are vital confirmation that can build a strong case.
- Maintenance records of the truck:
If possible, you should look for the maintenance and repair bills of the truck. There’s a possibility that faulty equipment and ill-maintained vehicle contributed to the trucking accident.
- Black boxes:
Significant evidence you would want to inquire is the ‘black box’. It’s an important data recorder that offers valuable insights about an accident. There are times when black box data can validate that the trucking driver was negligent.Trucking Accident Evidence May Get Destroyed in Six Months
Another reason to preserve time-sensitive evidence after a trucking accident is that trucking companies are allowed to get rid of potential evidence within six months after a trucking accident. Such substantiation may include driver logs, drug and alcohol test results, inspection reports, maintenance reports, and much more. As a trucking accident victim, if you file a lawsuit after all the proof is destroyed, it may get complicated for an attorney to confirm that the trucking accident company was at fault. Thus, it’s essential to get in touch with a veteran trucking accident attorney without the slightest delay. A retention or spoliation letter by your lawyer will prevent the trucking company from destroying all the proof related to the accident.
Our trucking accident attorneys in Monroe at the Law Offices of L. Clayton Burgess have been handling complicated cases for more than two decades now. Our injury attorneys will make a thorough investigation of your case to ensure that your rights are protected. The lawyers here will in fact, send experts to the scene of the accident to collect evidence. To make sure that you get the compensation you are entitled to, you should ideally get in touch with one of our seasoned attorneys without the slightest delay.
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