Trucking Accidents and the Need for Evidence Preservation
The United States Department of Transportation puts at 500,000 the number of truck accidents reported every year. If you add the accidents that are never reported, this figure can be much higher. These accidents result in nearly 130,000 injuries, with over 5,000 deaths. Most of these fatalities happen to motorists or passengers that were in other vehicles involved in the accident.
This goes to show you how serious truck accidents are and why you need to understand what happens following a truck accident.
Why Should You Act Quickly after a Trucking Accident?
You need to act very quickly when you get involved in a trucking accident because the trucking company and the insurance company will already be putting steps in motion to limit their liability. If you sit back and relax, you stand to lose out on your compensation.
Who Can Be Responsible for Your Injuries?
After a trucking accident, various parties can be responsible for your injuries. This can be the truck driver, the driver’s employer, the company leasing the truck to the trucking company, the owner of the truck or the truck manufacturer.
However, you have to determine liability before the responsible party can pay for damages or medical costs.
How Can You Determine Liability?
To help determine liability, you may turn to the help of an attorney. The attorney offers various legal services towards resolution of the case. The various services include:
Evidence Preservation and Collection
The attorney starts investigations with the aim of preserving and collecting key evidence in the case. The attorney will take photos of the accident site, skid marks, and any damage due to the accident.
The other key evidence in any trucking accident is the black box. This must be preserved because it contains information regarding the speed of the truck at the time of the accident and whether the brakes were hit before the collision. The attorney makes sure the trucking company and the insurance company preserves the black box and avails it necessarily.
The attorney subpoenas information such as the driver’s logs and driving records, truck’s maintenance records, annual review records, drug test results, violation of state laws, and valid licenses.
Expert Involvement
The attorney hires an accident reconstruction expert, an engineer, and other experts to investigate the accident and prove driver liability.
Compensation Recovery
The primary goal of a personal injury lawsuit is to help you receive compensation. You can be compensated for medical expenses, lost wages and any losses you have sustained due to damage to your vehicle.
Final Thoughts
One of the top causes of truck accidents is distraction. The major element of distraction is texting. There are various things you need to know about distracted drivers. Distracted truck drivers can lead to serious accidents that can cause injuries to you and your passengers, so staying calm and getting the right assistance in a crisis can help you move on with the least amount of hassle.
Guest Author: Lolita Di
