Texas Attorney: Preserving Evidence After 18-Wheeler Truck Accident

This video features Alan J. Robertson, a Medical Malpractice attorney based in Texas.

Alan Robertson | 888-364-6814 | Free Consult

How can an attorney help preserve evidence after an 18-wheeler truck accident?

Alan Robertson is a trial attorney with Sloan Law Firm based in Longview, Texas, with offices in Houston and Santa Fe. He focuses his practice on car and truck accidents, as well as oil field injuries and defective products.

In this Quick Question, he explains how an attorney can help preserve evidence following an 18-wheeler collision.

To learn more, contact the attorney directly by calling 888-364-6814 or by submitting a contact form on this page. The consultation is free and confidential, and you owe no out-of-pocket attorney fees.

Specific types of evidence exist in a collision with an 18-wheeler that do not exist in a standard passenger car accident, but it might take a lawyer to obtain it.

Trucking companies require their drivers to keep logs containing information such as where and when the driver left their starting destination, when they stopped to take mandatory rest breaks required by law, and when they arrived at their final destination. However, these logbooks are often falsified by drivers who have ignored regulations regarding rest breaks and are driving fatigued as a result. When building a case against a driver or trucking company after a collision with one of these big rigs, it is not uncommon for these logbooks to go missing or be obviously falsified.

Additionally, evidence exists in the form of vehicle downloads, crash data, and other evidence that is likely available from data recorded in the dash of a modern semi-truck. While this evidence can be paramount to proving the driver or trucking company’s liability in your case, it can be hard for the average layperson to get their hands on it. Experienced truck accident attorneys have access to experts who know how to obtain, download, and interpret the data recorded before, during, and after the collision in question, giving your legal team a much better chance of proving who was actually at fault for the accident.

Some evidence exists that you may be able to gather at the scene yourself, or by a loved one on your behalf.

While there is some evidence that can only be obtained by experts in law and trucking regulations, other evidence can be gathered by yourself or a loved one if you are incapacitated at the scene of the collision. Valuable evidence can be documented in the form of photos and videos including pictures and videos of both vehicles, pictures and videos of the surrounding area and any other property damage, and finally pictures and videos of the injury itself.

Additionally, it’s a good idea to ask for the contact information of any witnesses to the accident, as well as a short testimony regarding what they saw if they are willing to be recorded. Any reports made regarding the incident and medical records regarding your injury should also be included in the evidence for your case. It is imperative that all of this evidence be stored in a safe place where it cannot be lost or stolen until your legal team is able to make use of this evidence in the course of working your case.

If you are unable to get to the scene of the accident and don’t want to send a family member or friend to the scene to record this evidence, an attorney can do so on your behalf. If you or a loved one were injured in an accident with a big rig, seek legal counsel to learn how a truck accident attorney can help.

To learn more, contact Alan Robertson directly by calling 888-364-6814 or by submitting a contact form on this page. The consultation is free and confidential, and you owe no out-of-pocket attorney fees.

Video Transcript:

Rob Rosenthal:

How can an attorney help preserve evidence for you if you're in a collision with an 18-wheeler? Here's Texas attorney Alan Robertson's answer in this AskTheLawyers.com Quick Question.

Alan Robertson:

You may be able to take pictures following a wreck with an 18-wheeler. However you're not going to have access to vehicle downloads, crash data, all of these things that modern automobiles and 18-wheeler tractor-trailers have on board. We have access to experts who are experienced with downloading and interpreting this data so that you can determine who's at fault for your collision.

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