Given the sheer size of semi-trucks, they often cause extensive devastation when they’re involved in an accident. As a result, unsuspecting motorists can be left seriously injured, with extensive physical, emotional, and financial tolls being taken.
If you’ve been injured in one of these wrecks, you know this reality all too well. As a result, you might be looking for a way to protect your financial stability, secure needed medical care, and obtain a sense of accountability. Fortunately, a personal injury lawsuit might be the vehicle that you’re looking for.
How to gather evidence supporting your truck accident claim
Even if the cause of your truck accident seems obvious, it can be more difficult to prove your personal injury case than you think. This is because truck companies are often defended by aggressive teams of attorneys who are looking for a variety of ways to sidestep liability and shift the blame onto someone else, whether that be the truck driver, another motorist, or you.
So, as you prepare to move forward with your personal injury claim, you might want to consider doing each of the following to help build your case:
- Obtain police reports: A police report can contain a lot of helpful information. It can include witness statements, including the truck driver’s statements, and the officer’s opinion as to the cause of the accident. A police report can also help set the scene by giving indications of tire marks, vehicle resting positions, and any posted traffic signs.
- Subpoena maintenance records: Although your truck accident might’ve been caused solely by the trucker’s actions, there may have been other contributing factors, such as poor truck maintenance. These vehicles are supposed to be subjected to routine inspections and repairs, but truck companies often fail to abide by applicable regulations. Therefore, by subpoenaing these records, you might find another basis to support your claim.
- Subpoena trucking logs: Truckers are subjected to federal regulations that limit the amount of time that they can spend on the road. To ensure compliance with these regulations, truckers are required to keep driving logs. If you can get your hands on those records, you might learn that the trucker who caused your accident was driving for too many hours, which may have led to fatigue, tiredness, and a lack of attention. This can go a long way toward helping you prove your claim.
- Consider an accident reconstruction: In some truck accidents, it’s hard to tell exactly how the wreck was caused, which can make it difficult to prove liability. In these instances, it might be helpful to have an expert on your side who can evaluate the evidence and generate a report that indicates who caused the accident and who was at fault. This is what an accident reconstruction expert does. This individual is thorough in assessing the facts of the accident, and their report can carry a lot of weight at trial.
These are just some of the legal tactics that you can employ to strengthen your case. There are other maneuvers that may be beneficial to your case, which is why you might want to discuss the specifics of your case with an attorney who has experience developing these kinds of personal injury cases. With a skilled legal advocate by your side, hopefully you can persuade the judge or jury to side in your favor, thereby giving you the accountability and the compensation that you need to move on with your life.