Why Should I Hire A Truck Accident Lawyer?
The mission of a truck accident lawyer is to provide individual and personal attention while keeping a large focus on gaining compensation for the damages you face.
Our lawyers, attorneys, and paralegals work hard and are well known for their exceptional reputations, dedication, and concern for the safety and recuperation of truck accident injuries. It is important to understand that a truck accident lawyer will not only protect your rights but they will take the guesswork out of the entire process. We take every truck accident case very seriously and are dedicated to our clients.
You don’t have to pay a dime unless we win your case. You can receive a free, no obligation consultation about your truck accident case over the phone by calling toll free (800) 732-3070.
Our lawyers can help answer some of the important questions regarding your accident, injuries, and advise you on the best course of action for recuperating and gaining compensation for any damages related to the accident.
We have a provided below a small sample of some of the items we take into account to gather evidence for your case and help you from start to finish.
Our Lawyers Are Strict About Communication
One of the biggest mistakes a victim can make when injured in a trucking accident is talking to the truck driver, the trucking company’s attorneys or associates, or an insurance company prior to speaking with a lawyer. Doing so could be a very costly and catastrophic mistake.
A truck injury lawyer will interrogate and preserve communication between both parties and record all such exchanges. Communication such as personal, telephone or written must be closely recorded and guarded as many trucking companies will intimidate the victim and witnesses at the scene of the accident when communication is most vulnerable.
Lawyers keep track of every piece of communication such as: correspondence, memoranda, tapes, stenographic or handwritten notes, certificates, receipts, photographs, films, voice recordings, graphs, reports, minutes or statistical computations, agreements, negotiations, or statements.
We Dig Deep To Discover The Truck Driver’s History
Accident scenes can be a horrific scene. The events following the scene can be even more dramatic. Medical bills, insurance issues, and family hardships are just the beginning. A lawyer can represent you to fine tune the process and get you the experience you deserve.
Lawyers want to know every piece of detail about the state and history of the truck accident driver (if the driver is the defendant) who caused the accident including but not limited to:
a. Pre-employment questionnaire
b. Application for employment
c. All medical examinations and certification of medical examination cards
d. Driver’s violation statements for each twelve months of employment
e. Driver’s road test
f. Driver’s written test
g. Road and written test certifications issued by defendants or other organizations
h. All past employment inquiries sent to former employers and their responses
i. Inquiries and answers on driver’s license records of violations and accidents directed to, and received from, any state agencies.
j. Copies of all road and written test cards, medical cards, motor carrier certification of driver qualification and any other cards given to driver by defendants or any other motor carrier.
This is only a very small piece of the information a truck accident lawyer must learn during discovery of an accident. There are literally hundreds of other items our lawyers gather for your case including, but not limited to: tests, contracts, written agreements, documents, inspections, investigations, measurements, work history, alcohol and drug tests, compliance sheets, maintenance files, procedure manuals, communication records, suspensions, warnings, and termination notices.
By hiring an experience truck injury lawyer you will be assured full representation from start to finish. Call us 24/7 today for a free, no obligation review of your case at (800) 732-3070
We Discover The State Of The Truck Driver
We identity through witnesses, victims, truck drivers, trucking companies, and insurance companies a variety of information about the accident scene.
The list below is a small sample of the information we gather to defend and protect your rights:
1. Discovery of the truck drivers current state and history in terms of using alcohol, narcotics, sedatives, tranquilizers, barbiturates, or any other form of medical preparation.
2. We learn about the work history of the driver including any terminations, suspensions, traffic tickets, etc.
3. It is important that we discover the number of hours the driver has worked over the last 24 hours and last 7 days from the accident.
4. We request information on the condition of the vehicle at the time of the accident including but not limited to maintenance history, inspection sheets, and overall vehicle history reports.
5. We record information of the state of the commercial vehicle at the time of the accident including the driver’s route, speed of the vehicle when it collided, cargo the vehicle was carrying, all tests of the vehicle and driver prior to the accident, the name of the drivers trucking company and insurance company.
6. We discover if the truck driver has given any information to witnesses or interrogators such as oral or written statements outlining their interpretation of the accident.
7. We discover the weather and road conditions where the collision occurred including whether the conditions were wet or dry, in state of road repair, how far the trucker had an unobstructed view 100 feet before impact, 50 feet before impact, 15 feet before impact and immediately before impact.
8. We discover damage of the truck driver’s vehicle and any medically related injuries.
9. We discover the history of the truck driver including all citations for any violation of the law over the past ten years.
10. We learn if the truck driver had been suffering from any physical or mental infirmity, medical conditions, disabilities, sickness or impairment at the time of the occurrence of the collision. We learn whether the truck driver was prescribed eyeglasses, contact lenses, or hearing aids and when their eyes/ears were last examined.
We discover if the driver was using a cell phone, pager, satellite phone, two-way radio, personal digital assistant, Blackberry, computer or any other communication such as email or text messaging at the time of the accident.
Call us 24/7 today for a free, no obligation review of your case at (800) 732-3070
We Gather And Retain Important Evidence
A truck accident attorney will utilize his experience and resources to gather information from the trucking company to preserve records of the accident and insurance information. This information can be later used in court against the defendant.
We gather evidence from the defendant to ensure preservation of not only the trucking company’s records but also third party records under their control such as the insurance company.
We ask the trucking company after an accident to retain and not destroy the following documents and electronic information for your case:
1. Driver’s logs for the six (6) months preceding the collision;
2. The driver qualification file and all incident reports involving the driver;
3. All seventy (70) hour and other compliance audits of the driver (and co-driver if applicable);
4. All trip receipts, weight tickets, bills of lading, and operational documents as it pertains to this accident;
5. Satellite tracking information of the vehicle involved for the six (6) month period prior to the crash;
6. Bills and statements from Com Data or similar expense/cash advance services used by you and your driver;
7. All information contained in or retrieved from on-board data recorders (ECM units or black boxes);
8. E-mail and other communication between the driver and dispatcher or carrier;
9. All maintenance records, pre-trip inspection reports, post-trip inspection reports, and annual inspection records; and, - The tractor and trailer involved in this accident or at a minimum relevant parts or portions of the equipment.
Call us 24/7 today for a free, no obligation review of your case at (800) 732-3070
