News & opinion How to Investigate a Truck Accident

How to Investigate a Truck Accident

Nationawide Truck Accident Attorney

n style="font-

eight: 400;”>No one

nts to get into

n <

h

ef="https:

/c

inju

yvictims.com

se

vices

houston-t

uck-

ccident-l

ye

“>

ccident

ith

t

uck >. Most of the time, it doesn’t tu

n out so

ell fo

the sm

lle

vehicle. T

ucks e huge, he

vy,

nd often c

y h

zdous lo

ds. Moto

ists, bicyclists,

nd pedest

i

ns be

the b

unt of the imp

ct in

collision

ith

t

uck,

nd endu

e the bulk of the inju

ies. M

ny of those inju

ies e f

t

l. Even those

ho esc

pe

ith thei

lives could f

ce ye

s of p

in

nd dis

bility.<

sp

n> n style=”font-

eight: 400;">It’s

b

sic p

inciple of ou

leg

l system th

t the people o

comp

nies

ho c

use t

uck

ccidents should p

y fo

the d

m

ge they inflict. But, ho

does

n inju

ed victim of

t

uck

ccident find out

ho those people

e?

nd, ho

does th

t victim <

sp

n>n style=”font-

eight: 400;">p

ove n><

i> n style="font-

eight: 400;”> they c

used the

ccident

nd the victim’s inju

ies? Ho

do you p

ope

ly investig

te

t

uck

ccident?<

sp

n> n style=”font-

eight: 400;">Th

t’s

h

t

e t

ckle in this blog post. n>

Fo

St

te

s, YOU Don’t Usu

lly Investig

te; Youtto

ney’s Te

m Does.<

b>

n style="font-

eight: 400;”>

e h

ve eno

mous

espect fo

ou

clients. M

ny of them e going th

ough

n ful pe

iod, f

cing physic

l, emotion

l,

nd fin

nci

l ch

llenges they neve

im

gined. They shouldn’t h

ve to c

y the lo

d of investig

ting the ci

cumst

nces of theiccident,

nd they don’t. n> n style=”font-

eight: 400;">Hi

ing

n expe

ienced,

ell-

esou

ced

tto

ney me

ns getting

te

m—not just one l

ye

, but

g

oup of top-notch p

ofession

ls—

ho m

ke it thei

mission to uncove

eve

y det

il of you

t

uck

ccident. You c

n

est e

sy

nd concent

te on he

ling, kno

ing you

lye

’s te

m is tu

ning ove

eve

y stone

nd shining light in eve

y d

k co

ne

to find out n>n style=”font-

eight: 400;">

ho n><

i> n style="font-

eight: 400;”> might h

ve li

bility fo

the d

m

ges you suffe

ed in t

uck

ccident, n>n style=”font-

eight: 400;">ho

n><

i> n style="font-

eight: 400;”> you c

n p

ove th

t li

bility,

nd

hethe

the pties

ith p

ov

ble li

bility

lso h

ve the money to p

y you the d

m

ges you dese

ve.<

sp

n> n style=”font-

eight: 400;">Belo

,

e lk you th

ough e

ch of those steps. Just to be cle, you should unde

st

nd th

t investig

tions don’t usu

lly unfold

s ne

tly

s

e expl

in them belo

. Lots of investig

tive

ctivity usu

lly h

ppens

ll

t once. Good l

ye

s kno

ho

to keep tck of

ll the det

ils.<

sp

n>

Investig

ting

HO Might H

ve Li

bility to You.<

b>

n style="font-

eight: 400;”>You c

n’t file

compl

int

g

inst someone until you knoho they e. So, one of the fi

st jobs in

ny investig

tion is to figu

e out

ho

ll the pties e

ho MIGHT h

ve leg

l li

bility to you fo

d

m

ges. In

t

uck

ccident, th

t c

n be ide viety of people.<

sp

n> n style=”font-

eight: 400;">Let’s stt

ith eve

yone

ssoci

ted

ith the t

uck itself. You’ve got you

d

ive

, obviously,

s

ell

s the d

ive

’s employe

. The o

ne

of the t

uck,

hich is often someone othe

th

n the d

ive

o

his employe

, m

y

lso sh

e li

bility. If it’s

t

cto

-tile

, the o

ne

of the t

ile

might be someone diffe

ent still. Then you h

ve the pty th

t lo

ded the t

uck, the p

ty

ho o

ns the c

go, the mech

nic

ho l

st se

viced the t

uck,

nd the m

nuf

ctu

e

s of the t

uck

nd

ll of the t

uck’s p

ts.

ny of these pties, often mo

e th

n one, could h

ve potenti

l li

bility to you fo

c

using

t

uck

ccident.<

sp

n> n style=”font-

eight: 400;">But th

t’s not

ll: Sometimes the c

use of

t

uck

ccident h

s nothing to

ith the t

uck. Sometimes it’s some exte

n

l f

cto

, like

nothe

vehicle, o

d

nge

ous

o

d condition, o

f

ulty tffic o

il

o

d c

ossing sign

l. The p

ties

esponsible fo

those f

cto

s could

lso h

ve li

bility to you fo

c

using the

ccident. n> n style=”font-

eight: 400;">The

e

e potenti

lly sevel pties

ho could potenti

lly o

e you money fo

inju

ies

fte t

uck

ccident. So, ho

does you

tto

ney’s te

m find them? Kind of the

y you’d expect,

ctu

lly. The te

m g

the

s up

ll of the

v

il

ble

eco

ds of the csh

nd st

ts sifting th

ough them. Police

epo

ts, tffic c

me

s, eye

itness st

tements, p

ess photos, insunce cl

ims… you n

me it. The go

l is to m

ke su

e eve

y pty

ho might h

ve some connection to the csh gets identified.<

sp

n> n style=”font-

eight: 400;">Once identified, you

l

ye

’s te

m st

ts

o

king th

ough the list of pties

nd elimin

ting the ones

ho p

ob

bly didn’t c

use the csh. Eve

y c

sh scene

nd

ccident

epo

t tells

sto

y

bout the physic

l “mech

nics” of

c

sh, like

ho-hit-

ho,

h

t the fin

l

esting position of e

ch vehicle s

ys

bout ho

the

ccident occued,

nd so on. Th

t evidence gives cle indic

tions of

ho you c

n c

oss off the list of potenti

lly-li

ble pties.<

sp

n> n style=”font-

eight: 400;">

t the

isk of ove

simplifying,

h

t you

tto

ney

nd his te

m e

fte

is evidence pointing to

ho could h

ve done something diffe

ently th

t

ould h

ve p

ob

bly p

evented the c

sh.

d

ive

ho should h

ve gotten mo

e

est.

mech

nic

ho should h

ve tightened

connection.

o

d engineeho should h

ve m

de

cu

ve

little less sh

p. In

lot of

ccidents, the

e e mo

e th

n one of these pties

ho could h

ve m

de bette

decisions th

t

ould p

ob

bly h

ve p

evented you f

om getting hu

t. In

nutshell, out of

ll the people

nd comp

nies

ho

e

e someho

connected to the t

uck

ccident th

t left you inju

ed, THOSE e the pties

ho you might be

ble to sue fo

d

m

ges. n>

Investig

ting HO

to P

ove Li

bility<

b>

n style="font-

eight: 400;”>Once you

tto

ney’s te

m h

s identified the pties most likely to h

ve li

bility to you, the investig

tion tu

ns to figu

ing out ho

to p

ove thei

li

bility. In most t

uck csh c

ses, p

oving

p

ty h

s li

bility fo

you

inju

ies

equi

es p

esenting evidence to the ju

y sho

ing fou

things:<

sp

n>
  1. eight: 400;”>. In life,

    e

    ll h

    ve esponsibility not to t

    ke

    ctions th

    t

    e p

    ob

    bly going to hu

    t othe

    , innocent people. Th

    t

    esponsibility is

    h

    t l

    ye

    s c

    ll

    “duty of ce.” Fo

    someone to h

    ve li

    bility to you, they must h

    ve o

    ed you

    “duty of ce” not to t

    ke some

    ction th

    t

    ill put you in hm’s y. T

    uck d

    ive

    s, fo

    ex

    mple, o

    e you

    duty not to d

    ive

    ecklessly, bec

    use th

    t puts othe

    moto

    ists in d

    nge

    . n><

    li>

  2. The pty b

    e

    ched its duty of ce<

    b> n style="font-

    eight: 400;”>. Simply put, this me

    ns the pty

    cted in

    y th

    t

    ent

    g

    inst theiesponsibility not to do you hm.

    t

    uck

    ho speeds likely viol

    tes his duty of ce to othe

    moto

    ists, fo

    ex

    mple.<

    sp

    n><

    li>

  3. The b

    e

    ch of

    duty of c

    e h

    med you n style="font-

    eight: 400;”>. This is

    h

    t l

    ye

    s c

    ll “c

    us

    tion.” It me

    ns th

    t the c

    eless o

    eckless beh

    vio

    of someone

    ho o

    es you

    duty of ce must le

    d to the h

    m th

    t s done to you. Fo

    ex

    mple,

    t

    uckeho speeds viol

    tes his duty of c

    e, but if his speeding h

    d no connection to

    hy the t

    uck

    ccident h

    ppened, he p

    ob

    bly doesn’t h

    ve li

    bility to you. On the othe

    h

    nd, if the t

    ucke

    speeding s the

    e

    son the

    ccident h

    ppened, this “c

    us

    tion”

    equi

    ement is met.<

    sp

    n><

    li>

  4. The hm left you d

    m

    ged.<

    b> n style="font-

    eight: 400;”> In othe

    o

    ds, you incued economic losses o

    p

    in

    nd suffe

    ing

    s

    esult of the h

    m f

    om the

    ccident. In most t

    uck

    ccident c

    ses, this is

    no-b

    ine

    . OF COU

    SE you suffe

    ed d

    m

    ges!

    hy else

    ould you be t

    lking to

    lye

    ? n><

    li>

n style="font-

eight: 400;”>Fo

ny p

ty you

tto

ney thinks might h

ve li

bility to you, his te

m must dig up evidence th

t p

oves e

ch of these “elements.” So, in the ex

mple of the speeding t

ucke

, you need evidence, such

s

police

epo

t o

tffic c

me

foot

ge, to sho

ho

f

st the t

ucke

s going. You need

itnesses, including you

o

n

itness testimony, to p

ove th

t the speeding t

uck collided

ith you

c.

nd you need evidence, such

s medic

l bills p

y stubs,

nd mo

e testimony, to sho

ho

much you’ve suffe

ed bec

use of the inju

ies the

ccident c

used. n> n style=”font-

eight: 400;">Sometimes, the investig

tion

lso involves hi

ing expe

ts, like

ccident

econst

uction speci

lists, to

n

lyze the

ccident scene to p

ove ho

the

ccident h

ppened. It might

lso me

n h

ving you ev

lu

ted by medic

l speci

lists

ho c

n expl

in ex

ctly ho

the imp

ct of

n

ccident led to you

inju

ies,

nd

h

t the likely cost of those inju

ies

ill be ove

you

lifetime. n> n style=”font-

eight: 400;">

hen l

ye

s t

lk

bout “building

c

se,” it’s this pt of the investig

tion they’

e usu

lly t

lking

bout. n>

Investig

ting

HETHE

the Li

ble Pties C

n P

y You.<

b>

n style="font-

eight: 400;”>Leg

l li

bility is impo

t

nt, but if the p

ty li

ble to you c

n’t p

y, then it doesn’t do you much good. Th

t’s

hy expe

ienced t

uck

ccident l

ye

s spend time figu

ing out

hich of the pties

ith leg

l li

bility to you

LSO h

ve the

bility to p

y d

m

ges to you.

h

t

e the likely sou

ces of p

yment of d

m

ges in

t

uck

ccident c

se? Let’s t

ke

look

t

fe

of them.<

sp

n>

Insunce<

b>

n style="font-

eight: 400;”>Eve

y moto

ist is

equi

ed to c

y insunce. Th

t includes t

ucke

s

nd t

ucking comp

nies. Like

ny moto

vehicle

ccident, victims of t

uck

ccidents c

n expect to look to the insunce c

ied by the pe

son

ho c

used the

ccident fo

p

yment of d

m

ges. Insu

nce is ext

emely impo

t

nt in t

uck

ccident m

tte

s.

hen the p

ty

ith li

bility c

ies insunce, it inc

e

ses you

odds,

s

n

ccident victim, of

eceiving compens

tion. But, keep in mind, insunce comp

nies

lso t

y to limit thei

o

n li

bility. So,

hile they’

e eli

ble sou

ce of p

yment of d

m

ges in m

ny c

ses, they

lso fight hd to p

y the minimum they h

ve to. H

ving

n expe

ienced t

uck

ccident

tto

ney on you

side c

n help ensu

e the insunce comp

nies pl

y f

i

.<

sp

n>

Co

po

te

ssets<

b>

n style="font-

eight: 400;”>

hen the pty

ith leg

l li

bility to you is

co

po

tion, like

t

ucking comp

ny o m

nuf

ctu

e

of t

uck p

ts, the

ssets of the co

po

tion m

y

lso be

v

il

ble

s

sou

ce of money to p

y you

d

m

ges. Oftentimes this becomes

considetion

hen the comp

ny doesn’t c

y enough insu

nce to cove

ll of you

losses, ohen the comp

ny “self-insu

es” the

th

n c

ying comme

ci

l insu

nce. But, keep in mind th

t co

po

tions m

y

lso h

ve the

bility to seek p

otection f

om p

ying you by

eso

ting to co

po

te b

nk

uptcy.

n expe

ienced t

uck

ccident

tto

ney

ill explo

e

hethe co

po

tion h

s sufficient

ssets to cove

d

m

ges cl

im

ithout the

e being isk of the comp

ny

unning to the b

nk

uptcy cou

t. n>

Pe

son

l

ssets

n style="font-

eight: 400;”>Sometimes, the p

ty

ith li

bility to you is

n individu

l pe

son, like the t

ucke

in the ex

mple

bove. Most of the time, individu

ls c

y insunce. But, sometimes, thei

insu

nce isn’t enough to cove

you

d

m

ges, o

they viol

te the l

nd d

ive

ithout insunce.

hen th

t h

ppens, you

tto

ney m

y explo

e

hethe

the individu

l

ith leg

l li

bility to you h

s pe

son

l

ssets sufficient to p

y you

d

m

ges.<

sp

n> n style=”font-

eight: 400;">No

,

e

listic

lly, most people don’t h

ve enough c

sh sitting ound to p

y the d

m

ges to someone b

dly inju

ed in

t

uck

ccident. But, eve

y once in

hile the

e is someone involved in

t

uck

ccident

ho, individu

lly, h

s ve

y “deep pockets.” In those c

ses, youtto

ney m

y

dvise you th

t it’s

o

th you

t

ouble to pu

sue

leg

l cl

im

g

inst th

t individu

l, bec

use you kno

th

t individu

l’s pe

son

l

ssets could be enough to p

y the d

m

ges o

ed to you. n>

C

ll

N

tion

lly

ecognized T

uck

ccident

tto

ney

n style="font-

eight: 400;”>H

ve you suffe

ed

n inju

y in

t

uck

ccident? H

s

f

mily membe

tgic

lly died in one? Don’t

it to c

ll

n

tto

ney. The soone

youtto

ney c

n get involved in

c

se, the bette

the ch

nces you

ill

ecove

compens

tion f

om eve

y pty

ith the me

ns to p

y. n> n style=”font-

eight: 400;">Don’t miss out on you

ch

nce to

ecove

the d

m

ges you need; the l is on you

side,

nd no victim of

t

ucking

ccident should h

ve to go

ithout justice.

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