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What Happens After a Fatal Truck Accident
To make your claim and win in a court of law (or elicit a proper settlement) you need to know the facts, how to build a lawsuit, and you must have the physical evidence needed to support your lawsuit. Because the trucking firms are not just going to roll over. They are worried about profit – they want to make sure they aren’t held accountable financially. That’s their concern, not the loss of your family member. More info on this website
Immediately after the fatal 18 wheeler accident, trucking firms and their drivers will immediately begin extensive accident investigation and even wreck reconstruction, dispatching their operatives all over the city and the surrounding area, or wherever the tragic incident occurred. Many times, safety managers, insurance adjusters and attorneys will be called to the scene of the accident. They will interview witnesses, take pictures and prepare the driver for giving a statement to the investigating officers. They have done this dozens if not hundreds of times and they know how to position their people to try to put the blame on anyone but the trucking firm.
Fatal truck accidents require a lot more investigation on the plaintiff’s part than just the details of the accident. A proper investigation should involve an examination and research into the following aspects of the trucking firm or driver: hiring policies, drug and alcohol programs, safety protocols and guidelines, maintenance on the subject tractor, logs of the driver to assess issues of fatigue, mechanical defects of the truck, the health conditions of the driver including those impairing eyesight and other potentially contributing factors. The defendants are not exactly going to volunteer this information. At this stage this is imperative that an immediate investigation be performed including photographing physical evidence at the scene, interviewing witnesses, photographing and performing an inspection of the respective vehicles including the truck and its trailer and load. A smart lawsuit also requires researching all current and past court proceedings for any citation issued to the driver of the truck, conducting criminal background searches and driver’s license reports on the driver involved.
The next step is using that physical evidence to identify all the responsible parties. You need to do this to make sure a complete legal recovery for injuries suffered in an accident involving a commercial vehicle. This is important that you and your attorney identify as many potential defendants as possible. The vehicle driver himself is first among the parties most often responsible for causing accidents because of the nature of most wrecks since their actions many times directly cause wrecks. Commercial vehicle drivers are sometimes merely careless. Other times they are reckless or incompetent. They may speed or roll through stop signs. Sometimes they will ignore traffic warnings, ignore traffic conditions, or make illegal turns. When their own driving errors lead to accidents and injuries, the commercial vehicle drivers themselves may be held responsible for their carelessness in a lawsuit.
