Investigating a Truck Car Accident

I’m David Holub, an attorney focusing on personal injury law in northwest Indiana.

Welcome to Personal Injury Primer, where we break down the law into simple terms, provide legal tips, and discuss personal injury law topics.

When a truck-car accident occurs, a thorough investigation is crucial to determine what happened and the parties responsible for the crash. Hiring an experienced attorney to handle such cases is critical in such a situation.

Having an attorney to manage Evidence Collection is critical.

Police officers collect and document physical evidence in every crash, but more needs to be done when a truck-car crash results in serious injury.

Photographing damage to vehicles and the crash scene is essential.

Photos of skid marks and scene debris can help reconstruct what happened.

Photos showing weather and road conditions can also help.

Hiring an accident reconstructionist to come to the scene can be critical to establish precisely what happened from the physical and scene evidence.

It is likewise important to inspect the truck and trailer. Did equipment fail or malfunction? Did the brake system work as designed? Was the cargo adequately secured?

Did the driver and carrier comply with regulations? For example, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) requires the short-term keeping of driver logs and hours of service records, driver qualification records, vehicle maintenance records, cargo manifests, and shipping documents. Such documents can be destroyed, however, if copies are not promptly requested.

In sum, having an attorney working on your behalf soon after a car-truck crash can mean the difference between success at trial or failure.

I hope you found this information helpful. If you are a victim of someone’s carelessness, substandard medical care, product defect, work injury, or another personal injury, please call (219) 736-9700 with your questions. You can also learn more about us by visiting our website at DavidHolubLaw.com – while there, make sure you request a copy of our book “Fighting for Truth.”