How Can Your Lawyer Preserve Evidence for a Truck Accident Claim?

Truck accidents can lead to devastating injuries that require ongoing medical care and treatment. They may also cause an accident victim to miss time from work for a significant time. In a single instant, a semi-truck can crash into a car and change one or more lives forever due to catastrophic injuries.

Fortunately, injured truck accident victims may be eligible to recover compensation for their losses from the liable party with the help of Tampa truck accident lawyers. While monetary compensation can never turn back time and reverse the injuries, it can provide support and financial security for the future for victims.

However, obtaining compensation is not easy, and you must meet many intricate legal requirements. When an injured accident victim can file a third-party claim with a negligent truck driver or trucking company’s insurer, they must introduce evidence to satisfy their legal burden of proof.

A truck accident attorney can prepare and file a spoliation letter in your case, which prevents the negligent truck driver or trucking company from destroying potential evidence. That way, the evidence remains preserved, and your attorney can use it when proving the legal elements of your claim or lawsuit. However, without a spoliation letter, the negligent individual or entity may not voluntarily preserve this evidence.

Given everything riding on the line, you should retain skilled legal counsel to represent you in your case as quickly as possible. A qualified attorney can gather the necessary evidence in your case, prepare a claim, file it with the appropriate insurance company on your behalf, and, if necessary, litigate your case in court.

Moreover, your attorney can answer all of your legal questions every step of the way and help you make both intelligent and informed decisions. Your attorney will maximize your total monetary award so that you become whole again after your truck accident to the greatest extent possible.

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Common Truck Accident Causes

Truck accidents frequently occur when people drive carelessly and recklessly under the circumstances. Truck drivers, like all other drivers, must follow traffic laws and regulations and drive safely at all times. When they fail to do so and they cause an accident, severe injuries to other drivers and passengers may result.

First, negligent truckers drive in a careless or distracted way. For example, instead of paying attention to the road, a truck driver might send or read a text message on a cellular device, listen to loud music in the cab of their vehicle, or fiddle with a GPS navigation system. When truck drivers fail to observe the road, they may not see another car or pedestrian in the vicinity, and they may negligently cause a severe traffic accident.

Next, some truck accidents result from willful or negligent motor carrier violations. State and federal regulations prescribe load limits for large commercial vehicles, as well as both loading and unloading procedures. These regulations also define guidelines for overhead and undercarriage lighting and methods for adequately securing cargo to the trailer bed.

When truck drivers and trucking companies violate these regulations, trucks may become invisible to other drivers, causing severe accidents. Alternatively, cargo may slide off the trailer and into the middle of the road, bringing about a series of collisions with other vehicles.

Truck accidents may also happen when drivers fail to follow standard traffic laws. For example, they may speed excessively, fail to use their mirrors, fail to use their turn signals when switching lanes in traffic, or fail to yield the right-of-way to other vehicles at the proper times.

Truck accidents may also result from road rage or reckless driving. A truck driver might resort to tailgating, excessive speeding, and failing to use turn signals to get ahead of other traffic. However, because of these reckless driving maneuvers, a truck driver may negligently cause their vehicle to hit another car, leading to severe injuries.

Truck accidents can also happen when drivers become fatigued. Many truck drivers will resort to driving for long hours, hoping to receive a significant bonus from the trucking company that employs them.

To stay awake, some drivers will even resort to stimulant drugs. However, these drugs sometimes cause drivers to become sleepy while behind the wheel and may cause them to lose focus and concentration. Moreover, a severely fatigued truck driver might fall asleep at the wheel, causing their truck to hit numerous other nearby vehicles.

Finally, some truck accidents happen when drivers are under the illegal influence of alcohol or drugs. While passenger vehicle drivers are legally intoxicated if their blood alcohol concentration reaches 0.08 percent or higher, more stringent standards apply to commercial truck drivers. Alcohol can severely affect a truck driver’s driving abilities, as well as their concentration and focus. An intoxicated truck driver may experience blurred vision that prevents them from seeing other vehicles or pedestrians nearby. Truck drivers may also experience delayed reaction time, preventing them from braking in time to avoid a collision.

If you sustained injuries in a truck accident resulting from driver negligence, immediately consult a truck accident attorney in your area. Your lawyer can immediately investigate your accident circumstances and determine your eligibility for filing a claim. If your case can progress, your lawyer can assist you with every step of the process and pursue the maximum monetary compensation you deserve for your injuries.

Trucking Company Negligence

In addition to truck driver negligence, trucking company negligence may also cause or contribute to a severe accident. Trucking companies have a duty to ensure that their vehicles are safe and their drivers operate the trucks safely.

First, trucking companies must comply with all state and federal motor carrier regulations, especially concerning truck load limits and loading/unloading procedures. Trucking companies must also ensure their drivers comply with all CDL requirements and continuing education coursework.

Finally, trucking companies must never hire or retain drivers with bad driving records. If a trucking company commits one or more of these negligent actions or inactions and a truck accident results, you can hold them fully or partially responsible for the accident.

A knowledgeable truck accident attorney can review your case and determine whether you can hold a trucking company fully or partially responsible for your accident.

Types of Evidence Your Lawyer Can Preserve Following a Truck Accident

If you are eligible to file a third-party personal injury claim against the responsible truck driver or trucking company, your lawyer can help you gather and preserve the necessary evidence in your case. Preserving evidence makes it available should your personal injury case proceed to a civil jury trial or other litigation.

Your attorney can draft a spoliation letter and send it to the at-fault truck driver or trucking company. Upon receipt of this letter, the individual or entity must make every effort to preserve the requested evidence.

Evidence that your attorney can preserve in a truck accident case may include:

• Computer read-outs and information from the tractor-trailer’s on-board computer system regarding the truck’s speeds and directions at various times
• Body camera footage that shows the truck accident occurring in real time
• Trucking company records showing who was operating the truck in question
• Truck driver scheduling information
• Any information regarding the speed of the truck at the time of the accident
• Information regarding a particular truck driver’s prior driving record, including records of any prior driving infractions or disciplinary action

By taking the necessary action to preserve this evidence, you can use it in a civil jury trial or other litigation proceeding. Your attorney can then introduce the evidence to prove the various legal elements of your third-party claim or lawsuit.

Recovering Favorable Monetary Damages for Truck-accident Injuries

Victims of truck accidents who file a third-party claim or lawsuit against the negligent truck driver or trucking company can recover various monetary damages. The total damage award that they receive, either through a favorable settlement offer or litigation result, will usually depend on the severity of their injuries, the total cost of their medical treatment, and the likelihood that they may require medical treatment in the future, such as surgery or physical therapy.

First, injured truck accident victims can recover their related medical costs and compensation for lost income or loss of earning capacity. They may also recover monetary compensation for all of their related inconvenience, mental distress, past and future pain and suffering, loss of life enjoyment, loss of spousal consortium, loss of the ability to use one or more injured body parts, permanent disability or disfigurement, and lifetime care costs.

A skilled truck accident attorney can be beneficial when ascertaining the fair value of your claim or lawsuit. Your lawyer can also help you establish realistic expectations for your case and file the necessary claim or lawsuit to maximize the overall monetary damages you receive.

Contact a Local Truck Accident Attorney about Your Legal Matter Today

If you recently suffered injuries in a truck accident that was not your fault, an experienced truck accident lawyer in your area can help you preserve the evidence necessary to satisfy your legal burden of proof. By retaining legal counsel early in the case, you significantly increase your chances of recovering the favorable monetary damages you deserve for your injuries.

Because of the statute of limitations, truck accident victims do not have unlimited time to take legal action for monetary damages in their case. In fact, if a truck accident victim files their lawsuit belatedly, the courts will prevent them from recovering any monetary damages for their injuries.

An experienced truck accident attorney in your jurisdiction can help you determine the appropriate claim to file in your case and assist you with every step of the process.

Your lawyer can also handle all written and oral communications with insurance company representatives. Finally, you need to litigate your case, your lawyer can take your case to court, introduce the appropriate evidence on your behalf, and work to maximize your total monetary award.

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Boohoff Law P.A. – Tampa Office

829 W Dr Martin Luther King Jr Blvd
Tampa, FL 33603

Phone: 813-725-5606