It’s easy to think of trucking accidents in simplistic terms.
A big truck collides with a vehicle, causing injuries to the car driver and perhaps other vehicle occupants. The injured parties file claims with the trucking company to get compensated for their damages. The trucking company’s insurance provider accepts liability, sends a settlement check, and that’s the end of it.
Unfortunately, the aftermath of a truck accident rarely goes this smoothly. A majority of the time, obtaining compensation from the insurance company is a challenging task that involves collecting all the evidence you need to prove liability.
Below, we discuss some of the most important pieces of evidence when it comes to truck accident investigations.
Police Report
When a police officer arrives at the scene, they will most likely start documenting the accident in an official police report. Law enforcement will gather witness statements, record who required emergency medical attention, and draw an initial conclusion about how the accident may have occurred.
While this report may not tell the entire story of what happened leading up to the accident, it will paint a story of how the accident occurred, when it did, and if any other factors played a role, such as faulty equipment or illegal substances.
Crash Report
Most police officers, even those with years of experience on the job, are not expertly trained on big truck collisions, and their opinion or initial review is far from the last word on the matter. Law enforcement may bring a specialized investigator to the scene from the state’s department of public safety.
This investigator will conduct an extensive investigation into the cause of the accident, and these reports can prove very valuable to your case because they are done by a “neutral” third party who you can trust to record evidence without bias.
Black Box
Additionally, data from the truck itself can prove very valuable to your claim, specifically from a small device known as a “black box,” or an electronic control module (ECM).
Data collected from the black box will build a fact-based account of the crash. It will include information such as:
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How fast the driver was going
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When or if the driver braked
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The truck’s GPS location
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How long the driver had been driving/if they were taking sleep breaks
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Daily inspection reports
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Communications between the truck driver and trucking company
If anything from the driver’s statement contradicts the evidence from the ECM, your trucking accident attorney can use this information to further prove liability.
Contact a Trucking Accident Attorney
In order to combat the efforts of the insurance company’s investigation, it’s imperative that you obtain a trucking accident attorney who can launch their own investigation with your best interest in mind first.
With over 100 years of combined experience, our trucking accident attorneys have been assisting injury victims in San Antonio for numerous years. Our experience, combined with our investigative skills and knowledge of injury law, gives you the best chance at receiving fair compensation.
Contact The Law Offices of Tyler & Peery at 210-340-0900 to get started on your case.