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If you have evidence that shows that someone else was to blame for your truck accident injury, you may be entitled to substantial compensation. A California truck accident attorney at the Law Offices of Preston Easley, APC can fight to maximize the size of your settlement or award.
In a truck accident lawsuit, the core legal requirement that you must meet to win your case is to prove that someone else was negligent. The way that you can do this is through presenting evidence, whether it is physical or witness testimony. You have a limited amount of time to gather this evidence before it is lost to you permanently. Spoliation of evidence is a key reason why you must hire a truck accident lawyer immediately.
The criticality of evidence to your case, and your ability to immediately preserve it, is just one reason why you need legal help. Speak to a California truck accident lawyer at the Law Offices of Preston Easley, APC to learn how we can help you. Call our personal injury lawyers in California at (310) 773-5207.
The Trucking Company May Hold Evidence You Need to Win Your Case
There are multiple parties that may possess the evidence that you may need in a truck accident lawsuit. Most often, the evidence is in the hands of the trucking company, which will be sued for the actions of its truck driver employee. The trucking company is facing large potential liability, especially because truck accident settlements or verdicts are often more than what other types of accident victims receive. Accordingly, a trucking company may try to take steps to protect itself, regardless of the legality. The more money that is at issue, the more likely the truck and company may be to act improperly.
The trucking company is going to immediately conduct its own investigation of the crash, in part because it wants to protect itself legally. The same thing goes for the insurance company that must pay your damages up to the amount of the policy limit. Their quick efforts may create an uneven playing field because they will know exactly what evidence they have. By the time that you may otherwise get around to obtaining evidence, some of the proof that you may need to win, or give the jury an idea of what happened at the trucking company, may be long gone.
Evidence That Could Be Lost if You Do Not Act Quickly
The following are critical pieces of evidence that are very time-sensitive:
- Information from the truck’s electronic data recorder (also known as the “black box”) that can show what the truck driver was doing right before the accident
- Maintenance logs that demonstrate what actions the trucking company may have taken to provide the driver with a roadworthy and safe vehicle
- Operational logs that could show that the truck driver violated the hours of service regulations
- Employment and driving records for the individual operator who was involved in the crash
- Any other data that could show that the trucking company has a pattern of failing to comply with Trucking regulations
At some point, you may eventually need this evidence if you file a lawsuit and your case proceeds to the discovery phase. Although a defendant in a personal injury case can face serious consequences if they destroy potential evidence, that may not stop a trucking company that is facing large potential liability. Even if they do not intentionally take any steps to alter or destroy data, the trucking company may lose it over time. For example, the data from the black box recorder can be overwritten after a certain amount of time. A potential defendant can lose evidence simply because they were negligent.
How a Truck Accident Attorney Can Help
One of the reasons why it is so critical to get immediate legal help is that one of the first steps that a truck accident lawyer will take is to direct the potential defendant in your case to take steps to preserve all evidence related to the lawsuit. A truck accident attorney can do this in anticipation of litigation, regardless of whether you end up eventually filing a lawsuit. This way, the trucking company cannot say that they were not put on notice about their obligation to preserve evidence. If the trucking company still fails to maintain the necessary data in the face of this overt notification, they may face additional penalties from the court. They could face sanctions, adverse inferences drawn against them that may have been found in the evidence, and even possible punitive damages.
Contact a California Truck Accident Law Firm
The experienced California truck accident attorneys at the Law Offices of Preston Easley, APC can take an aggressive approach to preserving the evidence you must have in your case. Do not delay in scheduling a free initial consultation, which you can do by filling out an online contact form or by calling us today at (310) 773-5207.
Preston Easley is a graduate of the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis, MD. He served five years of active duty as a Naval officer — three years as a deck officer on a fast frigate and two years as a patrol boat skipper. Mr. Easley also served aboard a tank landing ship in the reserves. Learn more here.
