When representing the client who’s been injured in a trucking accident, it is important that certain evidence be maintained and not destroyed for use at trial and for use during settlement negotiations. I recently attended continuing legal education class for personal-injury attorneys in Georgia, and one of the speakers to Mr. Ausband gave an interesting lecture on informal discovery and trucking cases. I felt that I would review some of the information that he went over and that CLE with you today.
Under Georgia law if the insurance company fails to preserve certain evidence they can be sanctioned by the court. One of the things we will need to be preserved in a trucking accident case so that the evidence isn’t change or repaired or are altered or destroyed is the tractor-trailer itself. This makes complete sense because if they’re going to claim something is wrong or not wrong with the vehicle then we need to be able to inspect.
Another piece of evidence we would like to be preserved are oversize permits or licenses covering the truck or the load on the truck on the particular day of the accident. The drivers daily logs for the day of the accident and eight days before can be extremely helpful.As well as the drivers daily inspection reports. If there was any repairs or inspections of the vehicle enough time, that would be valuable information as well. For example, if they have repaired something and that was the reason for the accidents that information could be valuable.
The driver himself has a drivers license qualification file and in that file should be his application for the job, his CDL license, prior traffic accidents or violations, his employment history, an annual MVR, annual review of the drivers history, any certifications any drug testing reports, and other similar items.
Another important piece of evidence that should be maintained is the drivers post accident alcohol and drug testing results. If they have this information and it is not in the public record, that information is critical. The driver was under the influence at the time of the accident, the posture of the case changes for numerous reasons.
If there were any e-mails or letters or any other types of documents between the driver and the companyor enter company memos, we would like those to be preserved as well. Now, anything created by attorneys will be protected under the attorney-client privilege, however I’m speaking of communications within the company.
Another important piece of information have in a tractor-trailer accident is any type of electronic data from the truck itself most trucks have downloadable electronic data from the it tractor-trailers engine. That information includes the speed of the vehicle or the operation of the vehiclefor the six months preceding the accident. I’m very thankful for we all have this owner owned cars.
I hope you found this legal article informative and enjoyable. As you can see from some of the information provided, handling a tractor-trailer case in Georgia is much different than the traditional automobile accident case. Before your family can even get to the scene of the accident, representatives from the insurance company for the truck driver are already on the scene. Because of this, it is important to force the insurance company and attorneys for the insurance company to preserve and maintain not spoil any of theprecious evidence that is going to be used at trial or in a settlement prior to trial.
Atlanta attorney Joseph P McClelland represents clients across the state of Georgia and all types of personal injury cases. If you’ve been injured and that tractor-trailer or trucking accident, contact my office today at 770-775-0938 to discuss your case and confidential and private setting. All of our personal-injury consultations are free of charge. We represent clients in the metro Atlanta area, Marietta, Roswell, Stone Mountain, Decatur, Stockbridge, Jonesboro, McDonough, Griffin, Jackson, Monticello,and other cities.
- truck accident discovery
By: Georgia Attorney, Joseph P. McClelland