Truck Accident Investigation

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Truck Accident Investigation in Texas

Our award-winning Houston truck accident lawyers in have been helping injured Texans win maximum compensation for over three decades. The sooner we can begin investigating your accident, the better our chances of maximizing your compensation.

Recently we helped a Houston family after a fatal truck accident and gathered vital evidence early after the accident happened. The information that we recovered in our investigation helped us win a multi-million-dollar settlement for our clients. That settlement was the highest ever paid by the trucking company. Even then, the defense attorneys had a head start in that they were at the scene of the crash before the vehicles had even been moved.

There is a reason that insurance carriers are Johnny on the spot for conducting accident investigations after a severe injury or fatal crash. The reason is early investigation matters and can make a difference in a truck accident lawsuit.

Crash Reports Don’t Always Tell the Whole Story

After a severe commercial vehicle crash, the local authorities will investigate the accident. It is a mistake to assume that the authorities will do all that is necessary to protect your rights and interests if you or a loved one were injured in the accident.

Our truck accident investigations include much more information than that covered in a crash report from a typical Houston car accident.

The officer’s opinions on the cause of the crash are only part of the story. Further, those opinions may not necessarily be admissible in a personal injury or wrongful death lawsuit. Just because the officer faults the truck driver for causing the crash does not mean liability will not be contested or a Texas jury will hear the opinions.

Additionally, the officers may not know critical evidence about the truck driver and trucking company at the time of their investigation. Often it is our investigation that uncovers serious rule violations. Those violations can make or break a personal injury lawsuit by proving a trucking company’s fault. Rule violations can be the trucking company’s actions, the truck driver or both.

An Example of Truck Driver Rules Violations

In another case our personal injury lawyer recently won, the truck driver falsified his logbooks and was driving when he was legally barred from driving. The DPS officers who investigated the crash did not know the logbooks were false.

Or that the driver was tired and over his hours. The violations were uncovered after our scrutiny of the event data recorder and cell phone records. We proved the driver was both over the hours and also distracted by his cell phone. Our client was thrilled with the huge settlement! That proof helped our truck accident lawyers maximize our client’s settlement.

Preserving Vital Evidence

If your injuries are not severe and liability is clear, making sure vital evidence is retained for use in your case might not be a big deal. But if you lost a family member or your injuries are severe, and medical expenses are in the tens or hundreds of thousands, you must take steps to ensure the critical evidence is obtained and not destroyed.

Hiring an experienced truck accident attorney is the best way to get the proof you need.

The statute of limitations in Texas requires sppedy action and the sooner you start the investigation the quicker a lawsuit can get filed.

What Information Is Needed When Investigating a Truck Crash?

The list of critical evidence for your case depends a lot on how the crash happened and why. An investigation can uncover many facts that the investigating officers usually do not know. However, the analysis should be tailored to the facts of your accident.

For instance, if the truck driver rear-ended you, facts like the condition of the brakes, the hours the driver was on duty, and the event data recorder would be significant. But things like the load being improperly attached may not be relevant. Likewise, if the truck driver never touched the brakes, it doesn’t matter if the brakes were bad.

Here is a list of evidence that can be obtained to help win a truck accident lawsuit:

The Event Data Recorder (EDR) information.
Inspection of the tractor-trailer
Witness statements
The cell phone records of the truck driver
Background check on the driver
Background check on the motor carrier
Scene documentation
Driver’s logbooks
Load documents
All documents from each investigating authority
Recent shipping and delivery receipts
Drivers Qualification File (DQF)
Driver medical file (with blood tests)

What an experienced truck accident lawyer wants to get will depend on the facts of your crash. The earlier you hire a top-rated truck accident lawyer, the better your odds of winning full damages.

Event Data Recorder or Black Boxes

Event data recorders (EDR) are called “black boxes.” The EDR is a computer that records information critical to proving fault in many collisions. The EDR will record:

Speed just before the crash
Braking activity
Hours of operation
Evasive maneuvers just before the impact

Getting the computer data after the crash and before the big rig is placed back in service is essential to document and prosecute many truck injury claims.

The most significant benefit of getting the EDR data is that the data contains the truck driver in his testimony of what happened. The defense experts hired to say the accident was not the company’s fault will also have difficulty disregarding the EDR data.

The black box data should be prioritized in every severe injury or fatal truck accident case.

Why Inspect the Big Rig After an Accident?

An inspection of the rig should be part of the investigation of any serious injury accident. Trucking companies are required to keep their fleet in proper operating conditions to avoid accidents. The law requires specific actions when a big truck’s safety deficiencies are noted.

Investigation can reveal both violations of the law and conditions of the tractor or trailer that may have contributed to the cause of the crash. Typically, truck accident law firms use expert witnesses to examine tractor-trailers.

What is a Driver Qualification File (DQF)?

Trucking companies are called “Motor Carriers” for the regulation of truckers and their employers. Motor Carriers are required to register to get operating authority under federal and state laws. The law makes the trucking company process and retain certain records. One of the most detailed records required to be created deals with their truck drivers.

Those records are called the Driver Qualification File. Even if the driver is a one-person company, they must have a DQF on themselves. The file must contain facts about the driver and his fitness to be a professional semi-truck driver.

What is in a DQF?

There are eight categories of information required in a DQF. Most deal with an employed driver’s background. The trucking company must have the DQF readily available to authorities checking a driver. The DQF intends to ensure the trucking company has researched and qualified the driver to the minimum level of safety required by law.

Application of employment. The application identifies the company and the driver. It outlines the type of operation, the experience of the driver, and how they will be used. The application must state the type of vehicle the applicant intends to drive. Both driver and Motor Carrier must certify the driver is legally qualified to drive. Here are the contents of a Driver Qualification File:
Motor vehicle record. The driving record for each state the driver held a CDL for the previous twelve months.
Three years of previous driving records. The trucking company must investigate and document the driving history for at least three years.
Company reviews of driving records. The driving record of each driver for the trucking company must be reviewed annually by the company. All violations of any regulation must be disclosed and recorded. Things related to safety, such as traffic tickets, must be part of the documentation.
Record of violations. Each driver must certify all traffic infractions for the past year.
A copy of the CDL.
Medical Examiners Certificate. A DOT physical exam has to be conducted by an authorized medical examiner. Certificates are generally twenty-four months but can be shorter if any medical conditions require monitoring for safe driving.

DQF is a starting point for a truck accident attorney regarding safety practices and compliance with the law after a severe injury crash. Finding out if the trucking company was negligent takes an expert attorney.

Why are Witness Accounts so Valuable?

It is shocking the number of cases where the story of the truck driver changes after a defense attorney gets involved in the case. Most trucking companies have policies instructing drivers to call the office immediately after a crash. Some motor carriers even have accident cards indicating that the driver should never admit responsibility for the accident.

An independent witness is invaluable in determining what happened in the accident. The truck driver may change their story and try to protect himself from civil liability. At the same time, most factual accounts can indeed vary. But there is a difference between varied perceptions and defensive testimony.

Texas juries tend to evaluate testimony based on credibility and motivation. An independent witness who does not know either party is usually believed. That is why the best attorneys handling truck accident cases always seek witnesses to the collision.

How Can Cell Phone Records Help Your Case?

If the truck driver was on the phone at the time of the collision, he violated the regulations regarding cell phone use. The truck driver will often deny cell phone use to authorities, and obtaining cell phone records can provide evidence of cell phone use.

Cell phone records can also document the truck driver’s location at various times. For instance, in a recent case that we won, we discovered the truck driver had lied on his logbooks when we correlated his location with his cell phone. Cell phones used by truck drivers can be more than talking on the phone. It can be checking messages or even surfing the Internet while driving.

Baumgartner Law Firm Personal Injury Lawyer Practice Areas

At Baumgartner Law Firm, our personal injury attorney in Houston, TX, helps clients throughout Texas maximize their damages to get the compensation they deserve. We have recovered millions of dollars and represented thousands of accident victims.

Since 1985, our firm has limited the practice to serious injury cases and produced exceptional results in the following areas:

Our founder attorney, Greg Baumgartner, has over 35 years of experience and has been peer-reviewed preeminent for decades.

Hurt in a Car or 18-wheeler Accident- Contact Baumgartner Law Firm in Houston for Help.

An investigation after a severe injury accident should be started as early as possible. The evidence developed can impact the timing and amount of a settlement.

When trucking companies or truck drivers are shown to have knowingly violated safety rules, Texas juries take notice.